By JakkiJustSaying
In many low-income households, the demands stretch far beyond the physical. The pressure to keep everything together—finances, food, family, and feelings—often falls on one person. And their exhaustion becomes the silent background noise of the home.
This poem was born out of that tension.
No Time for Me… Yet
From sunrise to sunset and from dusk to dawn,
More relaxed time for me is what I long.Arriving home in the morning to start a new day,
With little time and patience to get the kids on their way.“Hubby” falls back asleep and within seconds snores so profound…
I scream for my coffee that I need in me to keep moving around.
The Unseen Burden of Low-Income Families
Within low-income families, every moment of stillness comes with a cost. When time is a luxury, self-care becomes a distant fantasy.
A sink full of dirty dishes and a hamper full of filthy clothes,
Why no one’s done their chores… Nobody seems to know.The telephone starts ringing and to answer it I must.
For I never know when my son naively breaks my trust.Friends and family often call, with little to discuss at all.
I just wish they cared enough to realize I’m pressed against the wall.
Burnout, Broken Floors & Emotional Distance
Twelve-hour shifts. Concrete floors. Emotional stress. The struggle isn’t just financial—it’s physical, emotional, spiritual.
Twelve long hours of standing on a floor that’s cracked and concrete.
Is becoming quite a problem because it’s truly hurting my feet.Suffocating within both dungeons with no place to run nor hide,
Makes me feel like I’m sinking in quicksand, and no help is at my side.The workload is already too much, for I am not up at my peak.
Do they not hear my cry for help nor care that I’ve fallen weak?
When the Family Stops Seeing You
Often in tight households, family members unintentionally begin to distance themselves from the one holding it all together. The glue gets overlooked until it starts to crack.
Final Reflection
Now that I am for sure broken down and extremely torn apart,
It is so much harder than it appears to be to find a brand-new start.Physically, emotionally, and mentally, I have fallen to the ground.
And I refuse to get up, until I have sincere help all around.It’s my turn to be catered to and it will be like the Queen that I am.
Your “Bank!”, your “Cook!”, your “Maid!”, your “Shrink!
Your “Slave!”, I’ll be damned!”
This poem is a truth too many carry in silence. Especially in households where the focus is just “making it,” emotional support is often the first to go missing. And yet—healing, help, and harmony are still possible… if we choose to see what’s really going on.
How many people in your life are silently carrying more than they can bear—and what would change if you actually saw them?
©2003 Jacqueline Stigall. All Rights Reserved.
Originally published in “Emotions From Within.”