POEMS ABOUT FEAR > An SOS
AN SOSHere I am just seventeen; don’t like the life that I have seen. Have no choice but to go on living, and days of my life to keep on giving. I’m low on rations, love and understanding, environmental conditions too demanding. Reinforcements coming too slow, while mind and body slowly go. I fear that I shall not last, a storm of hatred coming fast. No shelter of love to keep me away, from a torrent of tears that comes each day. Through all this I’ll try to survive, and try to be glad that I am alive. I’ll set up shelters and store up supplies, to hide my world from others’ eyes. CHARLENE JENKINS CAGE, 1970 |
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Behind AN SOS—A Note from Charlene
I grew up in the mountains, where poverty shaped every part of life. My parents were just teenagers when I was born, both unemployed, with little hope for a better future. My father once told me he could work in the fields all day for just a dollar—that was the standard rate.
By the time I wrote AN SOS at 17, our situation had improved slightly. My father found factory work, my mother was a restaurant hostess, and I had a job in Gatlinburg, trying to earn what I could. But life was still hard, and I felt trapped, struggling to see a future beyond survival. Writing AN SOS was an expression of that fear and uncertainty.
Eventually, I found my way out through education. I worked my way through college, determined to create a different life for myself. Looking back, I see AN SOS as a reflection of that turning point—the moment I realized I had to find my own escape.
By the time I wrote AN SOS at 17, our situation had improved slightly. My father found factory work, my mother was a restaurant hostess, and I had a job in Gatlinburg, trying to earn what I could. But life was still hard, and I felt trapped, struggling to see a future beyond survival. Writing AN SOS was an expression of that fear and uncertainty.
Eventually, I found my way out through education. I worked my way through college, determined to create a different life for myself. Looking back, I see AN SOS as a reflection of that turning point—the moment I realized I had to find my own escape.
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