yes, he was homeless

[Bill]

yes, he was homeless

 

he sat on the sidewalk

near the corner

by the Bus Stop

where the passengers would pass him by

 

he was stuck in a convoluted vortex

between Despair and Hope

not necessarily of his own doing

he was just looking for a way to cope

with the invisible rope

around the neck of his dead dreams

yes, he was homeless

 

it has been quite some time

more than he could even remember

since he saw his little girl

yes, she and  his family was his world

but she probably was not little any more

it has been so many years

so many tears

and all the fears

he once embraced

have now fled

for all that he once prized

has been bled

from his prideful grasp

right before his eyes . . .

his Family

his Home

and now he has been destined to roam

these streets of continuing anguish

yes, he was homeless

 

as he spends his days

in his own chosen ways

he has never held out his hand

to beg

though his life was out of hand

there still resided an uncertain pride

and dignity

his humanity

with a somewhat suspect certainty

yes, he was homeless

 

in spite of himself

he tried

and would not allow his noble spirit

to be denied

yes, he defied

the indifference to his suffering

and perhaps the Societal expectations

that told him to give up on life

to just become a part of the collection of statistics

and rollover and die

but still he vied

for more

yes, he was homeless

 

somewhere buried deeply in his heart

there still lived something warm

and it was all his alone

he found this quite special

it was the only thing left

yes it was his alone

and it could not be taken

nor forsaken

yes, he was homeless

 

there were pictures there he prized

he held them forever in his inner eye

embraced them

saw his face in them

there were pictures of a “White Pickett Fence”

with a Gate

that somehow he believed

would alter his fate

as it led to a brighter day

and this dark night would dissipate

and become sunshine once again

and then he could brightly

nightly

embrace his joy of expectation but one more time

 

in this same vision

he saw Sidewalks

but the only apparent purpose they served

was for Little Red Wagons

Hopscotch and Skates

and the endless Smiles and Sunshine

upon the Face of the Children

and such

a place where he could touch

a place in space not forgotten

 

and though he was homeless

he still had a heart

and his sanity

and this heart was the Home

of his Humanity

so though he was homeless

he still was so much more

than the man at the Bus Stop

 

and though he was just the man on the Sidewalk

of our City

homeless

it is not Pity one should give

Perhaps a Meal, your Heart, a Gesture, a Smile

stop and take some time to converse for a while

share your Humanity

share your Heart

for therein resides the Home

. . . of us all

 

 

yes, he was Homeless

 

(c) 28 December 2010 : William S. Peters, Sr.