footsteps

Footsteps die against the hustle of downtown
serve their forward purpose

A body passes through the crowds
The cold wind and colder rain
Have no chance against his dreaming
Of better days ahead
Forgetting a past behind

The campus smells of new and old
Promise and fulfillment
Life beginning at whatever age
The only opportunity left in such a world

Those footsteps carry him off the campus
To the job he depends on
The dark he confronts
Hopeless and dead end
The wasted existence that pays the bills
Provides the tuition

Others have parents' monies
He has dirty hands, sweat, and dreams

Thoughts of that campus
Will keep him alive all day