Homeless

Homeless

I often ponder if my situation was my fault

How and when did my life go into default

I grew up in a poor fatherless family

But how does that explain my wealthy friend’s calamity

He drove a really nice car to school

I walked, staggering like a drunken mule

At some point we met at the local bar

That jug of draft certainly left an everlasting scar

We concluded that going home was a waste of time

We got our jollies committing a nightly petty crime

The pawnbroker paid ten cents on the dollar

That’s how quickly one can become a street smart scholar

The schoolyard guardian always had a bag of tricks

For twenty bucks he taught us a new kind of politics

Heroin, crack or whatever you liked

God damn, everything sounded better than the guy called Christ

So here we are in our wonderful today

Lying in the stench of a urine filled alleyway

Cardboard more precious than a pair of socks

Even dirty fingernails no longer seem unorthodox 

Our hair thickened by dirt and dust

Our skin imitating steel as it turns to rust

Our faces scarred by the occasional beating

Typically the remains of society’s greeting

Homeless is not something we chose to be

Our missed opportunities bloomed just like the Judas Tree

But where was the help when we went astray

Why did the gentle words of discipline never find our yesterday

So now we share a grate atop the subway line

The occasional needle soothes our sorrows like bottled wine

Look down as you pass by to see the other side of life

Don’t be afraid to have reality cut you like a knife

Thank you,
Joseph Pede