Dedicated to Barack, Michelle, Malia & Sasha Obama
I.
There stood little Barry, watching the train go by. He had a smile that showed his white teeth and a faraway look that crossed the horizon. In the distance, the train passed by, its cars full of dreams and its hopeful sound announcing that a new day would soon begin.
II.
Once he arrived home, little Barry continued to dream with a poet’s imagination. His mother watched him, her eyes full of hope.
“What are you thinking about, Barry?” asked his mother, lovingly.
“About that beautiful white house that we saw the other day, Mom,” he replied. “When will we have one like that?”
“Well, my son, that’s everyone’s dream,” his mother said as she gave him a hug.
“Everything is possible, Mom.
You’ll see, someday everyone will have a house just like that one.”
III.
That morning, Barry received the best
Christmas present ever. His mother had gotten up very early and had painted their humble house a beautiful pearly white and it looked just like the snow that covered it. A smiling Barry hugged his mother and told her:
“Look Mom, change is never easy, but anything is possible.”
IV.
Barry was no ordinary boy. While the other children played ball, he spent his time reading history books, tales of the sea, and stories about great men. He tried imitating what was good and helping everyone he met. Barry knew how special every human being was.
V.
One afternoon while he was playing, Barry saw two children stealing ice cream from the hands of a black boy. They threw the little boy on the ground and stepped on him, all the while laughing at their own cruelty.
Barry felt a pain deep in his heart and he went home crying.
VI.
Barry’s worried mother went to speak with him.
“What happened, Barry?”
“Nothing, Mom. I just don’t understand why life is so unfair.”
“It sure is, son. There are many unfair things that we have to fight.”
“I’ll do what I can to help everybody, Mom. You’ll see.”
“I know, son. But remember, you’ll only be respected if you do it all with love.”
“I don’t why people behave the way they do, Mom. Even though we come from different places and we have different stories, we all share the same hope.”
Barry’s mother hugged him harder than ever. She knew how good her son was and she knew, in her heart, that Barry would make a difference. A difference that would change lives by moving mountains.
VII.
For many years, Barry studied hard, to make his dreams come true. He became Barack, a man who loved to help his community. He worked to improve the lives of people who lived in his community. He was an active member of his church and he lent a hand to one and all. Young Barack became a man whom people admired and a respected advocate for the less fortunate.
VIII.
Barack participated in great projects in his country. He married Michelle, a beautiful black woman and they had two daughters, Malia and Sasha. As the family grew, the Obama family’s blessings multiplied. Everyone loved Barack because he knew that “we all share the same hope.”
IX.
As an adult, Barack faced the biggest challenge of his life. He had the opportunity to lead his country before the whole world. It would be Barack’s job to end war, hunger, and injustice. A family man, Barack accepted this challenge, though he knew “change is never easy, but anything is possible.”
X.
As he held his right hand heavenward and his left on the word of God, Barack remembered the time his mother painted his house white, planting the seeds of his dream. Now, thirty-eight years later, that same little black boy would live in the White House. As a bald eagle flew in the distance, he heard the voice of his mother say “you’ll only be respected if you do it all with love.”
By: Norman Joel de Jesús de Jesús
Translation by: Kenneth DiLorenzo
