I Ran

by Lorrin Pringle
West Ohio Conference Intern
June 2009

I ran. As fast as I could run.
Some men and women in uniforms ran after me.
They shouted in a tongue I could not understand.
I ran.

Along the way I saw others, they were running with me.
A child, a father, a family. Running for their freedom.
“It will be better there” - that’s what they tell us.
“It won’t be so hard.”
“You won’t be so poor.”
I’ll finally be free.
I ran.

Then it happened.
The child fell.
Crying and hurt, bleeding where his knee hit the dusty, rocky ground.
He didn’t run anymore.
But I ran.

Something in my heart broke for him.
I wanted to stop but I knew I couldn’t.
I just ran.

The people in uniforms raced toward them,
Picking them up and dragging them back to that awful place.
But I just ran.

I couldn’t help it.
I couldn’t go back.
I couldn’t let them catch me.
So I ran.

I will never forget their faces.
We were friends, the other runners and I.
We were friends and I just ran.
We were brother and sister, but I just ran.

Now I work in the fields.
They pay me poorly - but it is enough to live.
They treat me badly, but I endure.
It is better than being back there.

I can eat.
I can live.
I can breathe, and I can run.

I can take care of my children.
My son, my daughter.
They can go to school.
Life is better for them here - they can run.

To this day I can’t forget - I won’t forget.
The face of that man and his son.
My friends.
I watched their tearstained faces as the border patrol led them away.
I could have tried to help.
And I just ran.