Tag Archives: homeless

Forgotten

Little one,

You never asked to be brought into this world.

~~

Cold and cruel,

Born on the wrong side of the tracks.

~~

A mother’s love,

Can feed the soul, but the body still craves.

~~

Too young to speak,

Still your cries speak louder than any words.

~~

Sustenance is your right,

Denial would only draw covenant with your demise.

~~

Dying is inevitable,

A fact of life, but a fate undeserved to one so young.

~~

Blamed for your station,

You live in the shadows,

Cursed by the sins of your father,

Left to scavenge at the fringes,

Only to be forgotten,

Or treated as a pariah,

By defect of conscience.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Left Out

philosophicalanthropology.net

Image Credit: philosophicalanthropology.net

Left out in the cold

Fingerless gloves beg for change

For food and shelter

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Here Today Gone Tomorrow

Calloused hands cracked and bleeding

Ne’er a chance to heal

Family counting on the sweat of labor

For sustenance

And a roof overhead

Nothing more matters in this world

Molten steel pays the bills

Scalded skin and blisters overtime

And he’ll go it again tomorrow

The mill a second home

Thirty years, a day never missed

But what matter does it make

Pink slips are coming

Jobs moving overseas

Loyalty counts for nothing these days

Just a number easily erased

Profits put ahead of people

Born of cheaper labor in the Far East

Silence over dinner

Uncertainty an unwelcomed guest

Visits every evening

Wifes eyes offer comfort

Hidden deep, she knows there is none

How to go on

Everything lost

Skilled to do little else

Some would call this progress

Another unnamed martyr

Of the corporate machine

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Charitable

Does benevolence pain you?

It should not…

Others welfare-

Mustn’t be a cause of discomfort,

But a source of joy,

A gift of fulfillment,

Done out of obligation,

Not of demand,

Instead an obligation,

To care for your brothers,

And sisters in need,

In their moment of distress.

Time or money,

It matters not,

When done out of…

The goodness of heart.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Out in the Cold

Image Credit: fealessmen.com

Image Credit: fealessmen.com

Glazed streets,

Reflection of street lamps blinding.

~~

Snowflakes fall,

Unique and ghostly frightening.

~~

Steam grates bellow,

Clouds of white coagulate in the night.

~~

Sidewalk frigid,

Stiff and frozen to the bone.

~~

Passersby laugh,

Homeless and so alone.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Life on the Off-ramp

Hot summer days,

A/C blasting cold and refreshing,

Music blaring from the car radio,

Cardboard signs,

“Will work for food”,

Litter the freeway off-ramps,

Held by vagrants and transients,

Dirty and broken,

Looking for food,

Looking for a better life,

Hoping to survive another day,

You pass by averting your eyes,

Pretending…no wishing they were not there,

Not because of sadness for their condition,

But out of deep seated embarrassment,

Red faced by lack of action,

Of compassion,

Of sympathy,

Seeing them as less than human,

A drain on society,

Would some spare change put you out,

Not likely,

But then you would have to face reality.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Silent Cries

Image Credit - thinkprogress.org

Image Credit – thinkprogress.org

An infant’s cry shatters another sleepless night

A mother, devoid of life sustaining nectar clutches her baby to her breast

A father weeps silently, drinking in his plight as if hemlock

Sadness shelters the family under its ramshackle peak

Hopelessness feeds their malnourished appetites

What excuse can be waged in this modern year

Brown or white, skin is of no significance

It is not a barrier to the ravages of hunger and poverty

Saying it does not exist does not make it so

As ignorance is not an excuse for blindness

Is there not enough for all

Are not sunken eyes and bloated bellies reason to intervene

Reason to give voice to the cries that no one hears

To tears shed that no one sees

To dreams dreamt that no one believes

Compassion and empathy must foster change

The sighted must open the eyes of the blind

The deaf must be compelled to hear

This is humanities charge

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Circle of Fools

Tightropes walk to the edge of ruin

Foresight focused on the next coronation

Selfish air about you floats

Ignoring the subjects by whom you’re appointed

~~

Millions seek your help after natures disaster

WIth backs turned and blinders on you drift away

Crying our duty has been faithfully done

Shameful and disgraceful are your exploits

~~

You led us to this precipice as arrogant fools will do

Tug-o-war played with lives of no consequence

Calls to work go unheeded in deafened halls

Leaving the masses pondering their fate

~~

Pointing fingers and placing blame like two year olds do

Holding your breath until your face turns blue

Shouting foul to the constituency

Hoping for some semblance of sympathy

~~

Feigning sincerity is not your passion

Ploys thrown about for the cameras leave us hollow

Begging for guidance and utopia in a barren wasteland

Sadly hope falls just out of reach

~~

Choosing to live or eat should not be in question

As human beings should these not be our unalienable right

Many of you say no all for the saving of a dollar

While claiming vociferously that we are a Christian nation

~~

Bloody and battered we hope for change

Praying diplomacy and common decency once again rears it’s head

Instead replacing cordiality with dissension

We are left drowning in a torrent of despair

~~

Harbor not ill will towards those who have entrusted

Compromise in our eyes is not an unclean word

Stubbornness and procrastination will lead to certain demise

Catapulting a once great dominion into irreparable ruin

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Just Another Day in the Promised Land

Homeless mother and child – csindy.com

By D. R. DiFrancesco

 ~~~~

Dirty faces streaked with tears,

Revealing the shell of who they were,

In silence they live their greatest fears,

Passing by, you pray they do not stir.

~~

Their homes a box, a shantytown,

No cover from rain, sleet or snow,

Living with luck or fate torn down,

With arrogance you look away from those below.

~~

Sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers,

They too were once like you,

Annoyed you pass, you can’t be bothered,

With these paupers, beggars and shrews.

~~

They did not ask for their station in life,

For many, no fault of their own,

They huddle with daughter, son and wife,

On these sidewalks and alleys alone.

~~

Lift yourself up and make your own way,

With what, is a question to be asked,

Struggling to eat day to day,

There’s no time for their plight to be masked.

~~

A little compassion would go a long way,

Helping pick up our fellow man,

With food and warmth and a safe place to stay,

Simple basics since time began.

~~

So many are one paycheck away,

From the life these nightmares are made of,

In darkness they hope to keep poverty at bay,

Saying prayers to their God in Heaven above.

~~

From that vagrant you see do not dart your eyes,

Instead offer an honest helping hand,

Remember the innocent child who cries,

Dirty, hungry and homeless in this promised land.

A Friend in Need

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~

Squatting down in ragged jeans,

Trembling hands counting out small change,

Pennies, nickels and dimes his life’s savings,

Mumbling to himself,

Wondering if he had enough for a drink.

Scorching sun on the molten sidewalk,

His weathered face toughened to leather,

Aged far beyond his years,

What is his story,

People pass by ignoring his existence.

Cold water,

Sweat dripping from my fingertips,

Waiting to pay for my pleasure,

Mind drifting back to the poor man on the sidewalk,

What fate lies ahead for him.

He asked for nothing,

He should not have to ask for anything,

Should we not care without request,

Tears welled up in my eyes,

This could be me.

Food and drink,

Such a small price for a brother in need,

This could never be enough, still it was all I could do,

“Here you go friend”, as the pittance was offered,

“Thank you kindly”, his humble reply.