thin line

He looked down the whole time
first at the ashtray outside the bar
gathering butts, even those with just one drag left

When offered a cigarette
he looked at it only
too embarrassed
to meet the eyes of the offerer

Humiliated with the offer of a five dollar bill
yet with no one around
and the encouragement of
“I’ve been there”
he looked up and smiled
with a face of hope
even with his shopping cart
home in the distance

what a thin line it really is

enemy

The words melded together
Linear blobs on a computer screen
Meaningless, formless, worthless
Six and a half hours of work
Climbed to the saturation point
When it all sucks terribly
Good thing it wasn’t paper
It’d be crumpled into balls
Scattered on the floor
Maybe it’ll look better in a couple days
But tonight it turned into an enemy

bodies

smells of wine and smoke hang heavy
lifeless clothes on the floor
curves under the blanket
rising and falling
erotic rythem
cooling bodies
chill of aftermath
following the right explosions

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