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Photo by Ethan Kent on Unsplash

Jane’s mother birthed her in an alley, surrounded by cats,
but such was normalcy for the poor in a valley of aristocrats.
Jane showed promise; a smart, formidable prodigy —
thanks to nature and nurture from her mother’s quality biology.
She grew up quick, maturing mostly from one prevailing need:
to help her mother survive the streets in the Land of Greed.

The first thing John slid through was Sesame Academy,
cut right on schedule from the mold of a bustling economy.
After the academy came school, where he failed spectacularly
and first experienced his father’s disciplinary muscularity.
When college came he temporarily escaped his father’s cage,
until he failed out and again met his father’s furious rage.
Apologetic, he tried college again with a big check from dad,
and apathetically trudged through most of his undergrad.
When his dad died, John dropped out of school and never found a wife
and he suffered alone, struggling with rage, for the rest of his long life.

Jane wanted most of all to go to university,
to work hard, learn even more, and conquer the world’s adversity.
She dreamed of being a doctor, helping kids — of better circumstances;
but she put her mother first and focused on their struggling finances.
When her mom died, Jane inherited her inventive ambition:
she enrolled in night classes and sold her body for tuition.
It was a risky business but it helped with devastating bills —
she pursued her lifelong dream while her tricks got their daily thrills.
She’d put it behind her after school; she wouldn’t be scarred —
but her dreams were cut short when one john choked her too hard.