Because I Know How It Feels Poem by Vanessa Alvarez

I give not from abundance,
but from memory's quiet ache—
the hollow nights, the empty hands,
the hunger no one dared to wake.

I give because I've tasted
the silence of despair,
where kindness is a stranger
and hope hangs in the air.

I give not for the glory,
nor to tally what I've done,
but because I know the cold
and wish it touched no one.

I give because I've needed
what no one thought to share—
a coin, a word, a moment's grace,
a sign that someone cared.

So take this gift, it's humble,
but it carries all I've known—
the weight of being nothing,
and the will to not be alone.