Jaycee Graffius | + Follow Poet |
Free verse | + Fav Poem | Comment | Email | Print |

There Was a Time

There was a time I believed I was free
But that belief is long gone.
It perished in a shooting of a public place
And the men in suits sent their thoughts a prayers
And then hid behind there bodyguards as they got back into their armor protected cars
It passed away in the streets of the richest country in the world
It’s ribs showing through its tattered tee shirt
As the grocery store poisoned more of the food it so callously threw away
It died in a run down house in the woods
A needle in its arm
Because getting help meant going to jail
Because the sickness was the crime
It expired when it jumped off a bridge
Too poor to do anything but die
While billionaires complained about having to pay taxes
It relinquished its life with its hands up
In the face of a man who swore to protect him
Who would never be blamed for his death
It fell to the ground with a rainbow painted on its cheek
Because in a world so filled with hate
Love is an act of treason
It ceased to exist in an alleyway
With the girl who couldn’t care for the life inside her
So she lost the life within her 
And it breathed its last with a sign in its hand
Because changing the world
Can sometimes mean not being not being a part of it anymore

Please Login to post a comment

Mark Toney Date: 5/22/2020 2:27:00 PM A very poignant write and indictment against society, Jaycee. I could be wrong, but having just read all of your posted poems in one setting, I would dare say that all of the above events are the effect of what is alluded to in your poem "It." ~Mark Login to Reply Mark Toney Date: 5/24/2020 12:41:00 AM Jaycee, your candor is refreshing. Your poetry shows your heightened sense of injustice in the world, and your keen understanding of the human condition. We look forward to more of your poetry. Take care and stay safe. ~Mark Jaycee Graffius Date: 5/23/2020 4:00:00 PM Thank you so much for all your kind feedback ?? You are right in a way, when I first started writing poetry I struggled with severe anxiety, and as such used poetry to describe my emotions. As of lately i’m finally treating my anxiety, so I like to think my poetry now shows a girl in recovery.