Zip Code

Do our zip codes foretell our futures?

I grew up in the wrong 5 digits.

I lived in a county without the means.

My families’ socioeconomic status was below average.

I saw stress, want, and desperation for what a community doesn’t have play out everyday.

And while I had love and care and trust in what we were,

I had to one day leave to just get by.

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Today, I live in the right 5 digits.

I reside in a county with means to share.

My status is defined by where I chose to plant new roots.

I give and take in a community without fear

And everyday I see and feel the confidence of being here.

But everyday I wonder if I’ve given up a little of who I once was.

I ask if I’ve been swept up in the wave of this town’s ideocracy.

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Perhaps Zip Codes don’t foretell our futures

But with the simple cross of a county line,

They can’t help but play a role in telling us who we are.

–Written by Sandy Heights

Image by 11417994 from Pixabay