Forgiveness or Solitude Poetry Contest, Sponsor - Ink Empress. Date written: 12/8/2024
In streets of solitude... A societal ghost ambles through A bustling concrete jungle unnoticed. A lost soul with sartorial handicap, Carrying life inside his overstuffed backpack. His face is weather-beaten; Reflecting wasted years, Loneliness and pain. His hungry, pleading eyes Dart from one passerby to the next. No one cares enough to approach, To find out his name. It's Jack. A few stop by to toss pennies Into his Styrofoam cup. No one sticks around to talk to him. His stomach often grumbles With hunger; The world blind to his plight. He wants more than a friendly wave At those waiting out a stop light Half of those don't even look in Jack's direction Because of pride, he doesn't Knock at car windows and ask... "Can you kindly spare a dollar?" A forgotten citizen left to fend for himself. He might as well be locked away In prison; out of sight, out of mind. Who searches, cries, and prays for this lost soul? America unwilling To bring this outsider in from the cold. She looks past him like cellophane. Campaigning politicians release A laundry list of plans that don't include Helping him to rise above his dismal circumstances. None of their promises include Sheltering this poor folk roaming about Like a stray dog, living under a bridge And sleeping in a makeshift tent. Sadly, it will always be this way In streets of solitude.
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