Brenden Foster

I saw a news story about an 11 year old boy named Brenden Foster. This extraordinary kid was and is facing death in the face. Brenden has leukemia and it has overtaken his body. However, it hasn't overtaken his heart and his ability to influence other people. His dying wish was to compel others to help feed the homeless. Because his weakened frame had prevented him to participate physically, his strengthened heart motivated other people to act on his behalf. People from all over the area decided to come together and make hundreds of sandwiches for the homeless. They did this because they wanted to help make this young man's dying wish come true. Brenden, at the current time, is still alive and smiling. He lives in Lynwood. His story touched my soul and made me realize that certain situations bring out the best in certain people and that it sometimes compels us to act in a selfless manner. Because of his wish to help those less fortunate than us, I want to write something for him so that his life and his message of compassion for others shall live on. Brenden, this is for you.

You may not know me, but I know you,
Your story touched me in ways that I cannot explain,
Many years separate the two of us, but your maturity surpasses mine,
Your last wish was to help those less fortunate,
A completely selfless act of compassion, you touched my soul,
You seem older than your age,
Because of your maturity and ability to put others first,
You urged others not to cry for you,
It was hard, but I managed not to cry,
You didn't want leukemia to cause another tear,
Such a brave young man,
You also wished to become an angel to watch over those you love,
I hope that your dream comes true,
Because you deserve it,
You deserve so much more,
Many of us complain about numerous things,
Your problem was much greater than ours,
And yet, you found it in your heart to help others,
When we complain, we're only thinking about ourselves,
You were faced with leukemia,
All you could think about was to help those less fortunate,
It makes me think,
It makes me wonder where you find your strength,
You are much braver than I,
You are stronger than I will ever be,
Thank you for your message,
Thank you for your courage,
Thank you for being who you are and always were,
A young man with a huge heart,
A heart capable of loving without biases,
A heart unable to withhold love for anyone, regardless of who they were,
A heart that grew stronger as your body grew weaker,
When you go, I want you to know,
That your family loves you dearly,
Know that everyday that you were on this Earth...that you were loved,
And I want you to also know,
That although you may not know who I am,
I love you.