Sat In a Corner

I’m huddled up in my usual spot outside Cold as a dog’s nose On the old park bench, eating air pies Drinking crushed sun, watching for a sign Counting days, waiting for rain There are signs everywhere, the crowd In every sense a herd But not behaving like one I have seen them before and I see them now People who look like trees Walking tall, laughing out loud Talking, choking on thought, walking There is nothing here but hunger Nothing here but thunder In my stomach, lightning in my mind I am no Jack Horner and there is no Christmas pie But I see the Christmas lights I see flickers in the dark night. There’s nothing in this They have nothing but darkness of heart They care naught who pass me by They can’t be bothered I am Lazarus, sitting at your gate Invisible to the naked eye, a figure in the shadows A picture in the rubble Action figure, dumpster diver Between us and them there is a great chasm fixed I would be grateful for another crumb of bread Master, what must I do to be saved? It means a lot to me. It matters that you asked My plight is simple, and so is the solution I will work for food, but every sign indicates to me That there are no vacancies, no jobs My communication is lost in translation I came into the world with egg in face I see a world in intermission Moving fast forward but also in fast reverse The rich young ruler left with a long face With thanks Original poem by Kenny Gwena appeared in an anthology titled "Hunger" Inspired by true events and four books "Waiting for the Rain" by Charles Mungoshi, "Man Gone Down" by Michael Thomas, "The Wasteland" by T.S. Eliot, and "The Holy Bible""