Juxtaposition Poetry

When You Think You Have it Bad

I wake up and complain

That my alarm is too loud.

While a protester in the Egyptian plains

runs through a crowd.

I get in the shower

and the water is too cold.

But Mubarak has already lost his power

and the Egyptian government is ready to fold.

I'm driving to class,

along with a few others.

While in Egypt 100,000 amass

to protest the killing of their brothers.

While in my morning class, I fight
to stay awake

a displaced Egyptian takes flight

for a better life he hopes to make.

I walk to class

weaving through people in the halls.

But in Cairo, this is not an easy task

there are 100,000 people after all.

Sometimes I complain about how our government is run;

that they do not keep the people in mind.

But in the far East, their government is done.

The people were sick of being politically blind.

I pack up my books

and complain about the weight.

While Egypt's government has been shook

with immense amounts of hate.

So, before you think
that you have it the worst,
remember some are on the brink
of dying first.


Inspired by: "It is dangerous to read newspapers" by Margaret Atwood.