Sometimes as a kid, you don't realize the things you don't have because you're blinded by your ever longing desire to learn and explore. A kid will always find a way to make the most of what they're given and turn it into something fun. Everything is uncharted territory for a child, so when they grow up impoverished it can go unnoticed by the child themselves. It's only when they're told how to have fun that the abnormalities between their lifestyle and another child's becomes evident to them.

It's often easier to pick on the ones you already know are weakest. If someone is seen "frantically squealing," then these people are going to be easier to beat down and degrade.

What we view as our "habitat" is nowhere close to what most animals claim their habitat as. Our idea of habitat and home is distorted by man-made objects and mechanics.

What I take the most from this poem is that hope is not something which is manifested easily, or something which you feel because your path was easy. Hope is something that you have because you're struggling, which is where I think the author gets the grimy depiction of hope from.

Oftentimes when you experience loss you find yourself being reminded of the person or thing nearly every time you look at something. Then, you eventually find something that doesn't remind you of them, but the fact of not remembering somehow makes those memories resurface again. You're so stunned that you're forgetting, that you start remembering again.

The author is making a reference to the saying "Time heals all." She disagrees, saying that time has brought her no relief. Though the saying is sometimes true, it's also true that it's mostly used as nothing more than meaningless words of comfort.

Reminds me of stories I've heard of the Berlin wall, and the families that were separated from West Berlin.

I interpret these lines a couple different ways; the speaker's mother's first language is not English, therefore it has probably taken many years for her to become as fluent as she is today. On the other hand, immigrants and foreign speakers are often mistreated in society and viewed as "less than" native born citizens.

Sometimes the people who you surround yourself with are people who are holding you back from your full potential.

Many mothers will experience similar situations to their daughters.

Multiple interpretations: You don't know what you have until it's gone; Take challenges as learning lessons.

When going through the difficulties of life as a child there will be times you don't have your mother present in the moment, who is nearly every child's safe space. In these moments it can be hard to remind yourself that you have someone by your side through thick and thin.