I’ve been struggling
Like a mule
All my life
It was what it was
One gray day
Daddy up & died
Leaving
A foreign widow
In a foreign land
No English
Nine hungry children
Did what I had to do
Thirteen
Walked out of school
Buckled on
My grown-up shoes
Washing, cooking, scrubbing
Made my way to Philadelphia
Just to mail home
A few green dollars
Paid daddy’s debts
Put bread on the table
Family stayed together
I
Struggled like a mule