Caught

Beautiful eyes catch sight of the new suit
being given a tour of the office

He catches the glances and smiles

Wonders if the eyes are admiring him
or the position they believe he’ll fill

no such thing

He gets home from night shift just in time
For the swift embrace of his hurried wife
A semi sweet kiss is what they can afford
Breakfast and bill paying, a quiet moment
Before the kids wake up
She’ll toil the day away
Before coming home to take over
For his three hour sleep
Only a couple more decades to go
Building a life without opportunities

A man lies in the door way
The only dry spot that can be found
Blankets and cardboard don’t do well in the rain
He smokes the cigarettes he found scattered
Stomach in knots, recalling what once was
A respectable life of just another guy
Everything went wrong and was lost
A roll of the dice, chance can be such a bitch
Anything at all would go a long way
But what’s the use? It’ll be lost again

The empty envelopes sitting on the table
Did a lot of damage
A young man stands in disbelief.
Holding an acceptance letter in one hand
Financial aid letter in the other
There will be no college
Sentenced to four decades of hard labor
And poverty. Dreams died in a moment
A waste of human capital.

The show will start at ten tonight
She’ll so enjoy this evening!
He made all the reservations;
The hottest new restaurant,
The finest wine, the perfect atmosphere
He’ll wear an expensive suit, pick her up in his newest Mercedes
she’ll love his place, the breathtaking view
unbelievable furnishings
yet another conquest
he gets the best his father’s money can buy

there is no such thing as deserve

drink a cheer for Howard Zinn

it never happened
not in this country

Hoards in the street
Malnourished bodies ached
For more punishment
anything for substistence

no other course
pushed to the verge of death
hungry children, desperate parents
dead and dying loners

police bullets sprayed the crowd of men
silent cries of wives broke through to nowhere
but the “bastard commies” pushed on
nowhere else to go

it never happened
not in this country

so many were in the same struggle
yet knew not to stand
labled as communist, accused of many evils
don’t want to be one of them

the shame
being unable to succeed
or eat or live
kept so many down

it never happened
not in this country

almost all but memory and story
have been erased
lest people remember
who not to trust

remember; it never happened
not here at least.

Until it happens again

another

The wine pours into my glass
A close friend to lean on
A deadly enemy and thief
Allowing a freer life and an earlier death
Life burning feverishly

Drinking to remember or to forget
To meet or to distance
Be included or excluded
To forget a bitterness in life
To live a bitterness better forgotten

We all have our reasons
Just pour me another

already gone

Numbed legs protest as the body rises
The back cracks and spasms
Hobbling to get the blood flowing
Brings pain from back to knees

Wind whips from everywhere
Smacks cold rain to the body
Chilling deep, begins the shivers
Reminding what freedom brings

Pains would be magnified without
That which brings the pains
Serving sentences for earning a living
A life sentence, no parole

There are others eager to get in
Lined up, no sentences of their own
Stuck in the chilled freedom
Seeking a way to get in

Hobbling inside the customers’
Place of business, all smiles
Eager to serve, idle chitchat
They’re not better off

All to earn a paycheck already gone
Eager to get home to the wine
While both can be had
Such is life

unearned

Indoors people shelter
And hole up for a winters’ night
Outside lies the cold
Affecting some more than others

The chill nags my side
Even under warm covers
As the wine worked its’ way
No longer an effect

I feel warmth to my right
Roll over and move in it’s direction
Putting my arm around her
My crotch against her ass

Her hot body radiates
Like the sun itself
Seeming to almost burn me
The one source

Awake and troubled
Remembering when I had no warmth
No roof, no food, nothing
Nothing but eagerness

Those less fortunate cross my mind
As if I were destined to return
To lose all but memories
Having failed at so much

Successes brought nothing
Ultimately all that was tried
Shouldn’t have been
On the edge again

But for tonight
There is refuge from the cold
Lying there no longer drunk
Soaking in the warmth of another

role

Ten percent unemployment they say
Then report on a man who was making $75 an hour
Now makes $46.
Tough times indeed.

People lived beyond their means
Bought a house
Paid medical insurance
Owned a car
Built on their headstart

Others slept on buses
Worked day labor
Never saw a doctor
So walmart could sell cheap
And stock prices could soar

I guess everyone
had their role in creating this depression