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Nearby Ghetto

i wish i didn’t* but
i have to get across town
so off i go taking the bus
that drives through a nasty ghetto
 
i’m shocked as i look out the window
to see several dismal characters
i can’t imagine the misfortunes
that has brought them there

they’re low, they’re high
or maybe that's just their life
being low in between their high

houses so run down
they look like crackhouses to me
windows loosely boarded up 
properties with signs for sale ~ as if !!
 
meanwhile i can't help 
but notice that i'm the only 
caucasian on the bus

i take the time to notice people in their uniforms
orderlies, cashiers, dishwashers, students
in their eyes bound determination to get ahead 
and not land in this foresaken ghetto
 
and then we turn around a corner
back to the realm of civilization
like having crawled out of a deep hole
no wall no fence 

just an imaginary line
that we dare cross at our own peril
doggedly holding our breath 
cautious that the pit won't engulf us


* I'm on my way to a doctor's appointment that I'm dreading.

P.S. I feel it's important to mention that I live in Canada where we don't really use the term 'ghetto', and up here these quarters attract substance abusers.


AP: Honorable Mention 2025

Copyright © Line Gauthier | Year Posted 2025

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Susan Ashley Date: 4/2/2025 10:57:00 AM Dear Line, I think this poem does what a great poem should do; it conveys the speaker's emotional/visceral response to a neighborhood's signs of societal decay, alienation, drug abuse, poverty, racial differences and engages the reader to explore how they think/feel about such things. Great poetry provokes a response, positive or negative. So long as a poem doesn't leave you feeling dead inside then a poem has done its creative job. These urban scenes are real and your use of bleak vivid imagery calls attention to the socioeconomic breakdown, its consequences and its boundaries with raw poetic finesse. Warmest wishes.. ~Susan Login to Reply Line Gauthier Date: 4/3/2025 5:36:00 AM Yes, I was trying to convey the shock of it all ~ and really, we might actually only be one tragedy away from that world... there are so many angles to this... plenty of food for thought

Maureen McGreavy Pigeon Tart Date: 4/2/2025 6:34:00 AM I disagree with Tommy’s take of condescending; the second last stanza starts with “we”, breaking down any separation between you and the rest of the passengers, and the next stanza with “just an imaginary line” deliberately more so. I read empathy here. xomo Login to Reply Line Gauthier Date: 4/3/2025 5:42:00 AM Thanks for your visit and comment, Maureen. This is such a huge and complex subject. A poem captures one perspective but an author would need to write many more poems to begin to express the entirety of their viewpoint, their empathy, their concern, their experience, their shame, their regrets, their good deeds, their anger at society's lack of solutions.... Tom Woody Date: 4/2/2025 9:10:00 AM You and your gang would disagree with anything I write. Nothing new. Maureen McGreavy Pigeon Tart Date: 4/2/2025 6:35:00 AM …”us” at the end. ~x

Tom Woody Date: 4/1/2025 3:17:00 PM I'm sorry. Just can't endorse. The whole tone of the poem is condescending and lacks any hint of empathy or sympathy. Jesus and his message would likely flourish in a so-called ghetto as you describe. The suburbs and gated communities, probably not so much Login to Reply Maureen McGreavy Pigeon Tart Date: 4/2/2025 1:10:00 PM I’ll add, Line and I live in the same city, so I do have an advantage of appreciating the poetic license, she may even have been travelling through my colourful end of town. Maureen McGreavy Pigeon Tart Date: 4/2/2025 1:02:00 PM 10-4 that ;), Tom Woody Date: 4/2/2025 12:49:00 PM Must be the insolent rib part of you ;) Maureen McGreavy Pigeon Tart Date: 4/2/2025 12:39:00 PM It was not my intention to offend you with a differing interpretation. I have in fact agreed with you recently in comments written. I am not a member of any gang, however being called gangsta does feels kinda chic. Tom Woody Date: 4/2/2025 12:20:00 PM I'll just add one last word. In my forty plus year ministry I've been in every type of neighborhood, knocking on all the doors. In the poorer areas are found some of the kindest, humblest people. Many of them come from terrible upbringings and were never taught how to live right. Others have been shown little or no real love in their lives. I studied the Bible with a heroin addict who spent years living on the streets. The Bible changed his life. There's a reason Jesus was drawn to the poor and afflicted, and visa versa, while the rich and powerful often scorned him Tom Woody Date: 4/2/2025 11:31:00 AM Your use of the words dirty, nasty, dismal characters, pit, caucasian, ghetto, deep hole, along with your clear desire for escape or even avoidance altogether suggests a judgment attitude the lets the reader know you feel superior in every way to these dismal folk. If that was your goal then kudos. As Susan states above, you've provoked a response Line Gauthier Date: 4/1/2025 5:48:00 PM Sorry this poem is coming across so negative to you ~ it's sad to see people fall into the lifestyle of abusing alcohol and drugs ~ unfortunately there's not much we can do about turning that around. Kindness if we're walking by of course but it's very sad to go through an actual neighbourhood that's run down.