Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up 

like a raisin in the sun? 
Or fester like a sore-- 
And then run? 
Does it stink like rotten meat? 
Or crust and sugar over-- 
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags 
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Everyday someone has a dream that ends up deferred. Whether it’s a teenage girl who has become pregnant or a young man expected to take care of the house because his father is incarcerated. Maybe it’s the 9 year-old attending school in the South Bronx, who’s told by his teacher that he won’t amount to anything; or the 19 year-old who witnessed her best friend being murdered. For every person that has the ability to carry out their dream, there’s another whose dream is being blurred or taken away. While we aren’t able to blink and change the world, we can extend a hand and touch a heart. If each one reaches one, we are moving in the right direction.

My brother, who coaches the jr. basketball league, is showing those boys that someone cares enough to spend time with them on a weekly basis. My friends, who are Social Workers, are showing those children and families that they care and want to see them on the right track again. My friend, who’s a mentor and “Big Brother,” is showing his “Little Brother,” that hard work and perseverance does pay off.

Yes, some dreams are deferred because of life circumstances, but that doesn’t mean they should be forgotten. The definition of deferred is “to put off” not “to put away.” Let’s do our part to ensure some dreams become reality and not sag around, “like a heavy load.”