Seven Years Hard Labor

The father of her child
Left before the child was born,
And she spent seven long years
Fighting to survive
And care for that child.
She was proud
That she was able to get by
But it had never been easy
And she had paid a terrible price
For their survival.
She had done it alone,
Not out of desire,
But simply because
There didn’t seem to be
Any other way.
She didn’t believe
That any man
Would be interested
In taking on a mother and child
So she didn’t bother looking.
The loneliness ate at her
Heart and soul,
And some days she wanted to quit
But that was not possible either.
It was seven years hard labor.
Often she was angry
At the world
And her lot in life.
She didn’t feel that it was wrong
To have loved and lost,
But she was being punished
All the same,
Or so she thought.
Look at the beautiful child
She had produced.
The love for her child
Was what sustained her
Through the years of struggle.
Left up to her own devices,
It probably never
Would have changed,
But her daughter sensed
The loneliness of her mother in others,
And naturally befriended them.
One of them was a man
With a child of his own
In much the same situation.
It was difficult at first
For either to trust the other,
But in time
They each came to believe
That they were made
For each other
And decided that the world
Wasn’t such a bad place after all.
You should see them now.
Never was there
A happier lot than them.
Love and a little coaxing
From her daughter
Was all it took.