Tag Archives: street

Over A Barrel

Coffee thick and strong,

Cooked over an panhandlers stove.

~

A barrel fire for warmth,

Trash confiscated as fuel.

~

Emitting the foulest of odors,

Room for but a few.

~

Night frigid under tenement shadows,

Shanties erected haphazard.

~

Rags moth eaten and ragged,

Held up by anything scavenged.

~

Shelters vulnerable to the storm,

Little choice in the matter.

~

Homes taken,

Jobs shipped overseas.

~

Children hungry and cold,

Let down by an unsympathetic people.

~

A movie scene?

No, these are real lives.

~

Real people,

This is life on the street.

~~ 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 ~~

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.

The Looking Glass

A window,

Like any other window,

Panes separate reality from fiction,

Anonymity, my closest friend.

 

The sidewalk,

Crowded with actors in this play,

Passers by looking up,

I’m part of the backdrop,

Important to the scenery,

Insignificant to the story,

But at least I’m still on stage.

 

I watch and listen,

Taking in the hustle and bustle outside,

So cliche’ yet so relevant,

The horns, the taxis,

Rushing to get to God knows where,

All to make another dollar.

 

People scramble,

Suits and ties, bohemians and homeless,

Sharing the same life on the streets,

Avoiding eye contact,

Avoiding making it personal

Too afraid of feeling empathy for those around them.

 

The children,

Double-dutch and hopscotch,

Brings back memories of simpler times,

Things weren’t so complicated back then,

Fire hydrants to beat the summer heat,

Careless and carefree were the names of the game.

 

My hands to glass,

Breath fogging my lens to the world,

Wishing I could be part of the show,

Instead of just a prop,

Destined to remain alone,

A fish in this fishbowl I call home.

 

A window,

Like any other window,

Panes separate reality from fiction,

Anonymity, my closest friend.