What's it like?

What's it like to walk in someone else's shoes? What's it like to not have had the best food, the best clothes, the best education, the most opportunities? There is so much that I have squandered and wasted over my life. There is so much that I have judged in others and taken for granted in my own life.
Curt gave me this book called 'The Shadow of the Sun' by Ryszard Kapuscinski. He was a Polish reporter who traveled for decades around various parts of Africa. It really made me think about how different life can be from what I understand.
Of course, there is so much about the very town I live in that seems foreign. There are a huge faction of people that I hardly, if ever come into contact with. When I do it is of the most minimal sort.
One group in our country that causes so much controversy are immigrants. My mother is from England and she came here in the 60's. She made America her home and felt like it was so welcoming and interesting. But, she was lucky because she could afford to live a good life with fun times here.
For so many, America must be this great dream from far away. Once they get here, without much money, it must be quite a disappointment.
In this vein, a dear friend sent me a link to this poem called 'Pedro Pietri: Puerto Rican Obituary' Take a moment and read it.