Jane

I am featuring this because of the severe winter weather happening in most of the USA I thought about this last night when the temperature dropped to 12 degrees~ 'She forgot who she was"..

 

 

 

She walks the streets
no shoes adorn her feet
bare
bruised
rough, calloused

She finds solace in an
old suitcase
it holds all her belongings
she treasures them

A book of poetry
a purple silk scarf
a comb with most of it's teeth missing
like it forgot to visit the dentist
and
a picture
little girl
blonde
blue eyes with
a smile that lights the darkest rooms

She knows of dark rooms
she lives in darkness
she had a flat but her job
well, her job let her go
so the man said, "Get Out"
she tried to get another job
"we're not hiring", they always said

After a time , a long time
she forgot her name
now,
well, now
she roams the dirty boulevard
and wonders who she is
and how she got here
she wonders who the little girl is
who's smile lights the darkness in which she lives

People sneer at her
laugh, point , stare
a woman with faded blue eyes
dirty blond hair
in Salvation Army rags
they laugh
they make her feel
'uncomfortable'
they call her
the bag lady
among other names

Sometimes she cries
though she is used to it
her stomach gnaws with hunger pains
as she searches the trash and dumpsters
for a crumb
just a crumb
one crumb

The man at the bakery watches her
his heart is not hard
he calls her
she doesn't hear him
because
she doesn't want to

She knows what he wants
laughing
sneering
pointing
she walks past

Some nights she sees Angels
they call her name
"Jane"
"Jane"
"Hello Jane,
do you know
someday you will inherit
this Earth"?

Someday isn't soon enough for
sweet Jane
someday needs to be today

"Jane, don't cry",
they say
"someday"
"someday"
"someday"

"Please", she whispers
"help me find my way home"
"please", she cries
"let me be visible again"

She feels so alone
she is alone
but when she looks at the faded photograph
her heart feels lighter
the world
brighter

She coughs a lot
her house leaks
her nose runs
her stomach aches with hunger pangs

The Angels visit her every day now
"Jane, someday is now"
"Are you going to show me the way home"?

"Follow the light Jane"
She feels warm for the first time
in so long
the feeling is surreal
the light radiates throughout her
filling her,satiating the hunger
cold, loneliness

In the distance
beneath a tree of
fragrant blossoms
by a stream as clear as crystaline crystal
sets the little girl
"Mommy", she cries
"You finally came home"




 

Author's Note

I am glad I wrote this one on wordpad.. people need to be aware of this ... and not all homeless are drug addicts or alcoholics.. most are people like you and me .. it is said most Americans are one paycheck away from being homeless.. it could happen to any of us!

Reviews

[Lionel Braud]

this poem has a lot going, it is a narrative poem full of heeartache and hope, and has a harsh sense of realism, contemporary urban realism, lot of rhymes and off rhymes, slant rhymes, good use of dialogue, not many use dialogue, robert frost did, this incorporates lots of poetic styles.

[Colly Flower Kid]

I absolutely loved this poem, it was so sad and it really got me thinking. Homeless people are not something I think of everyday since I don't live in an area where there are any, or any I know of, I want to thank you for writing this and making people aware.

[Cameron Connolly]

very moving. tragic but i suppose the ending was happy. i really enjoyed reading it. it helps to put a human face on people that usually we have no idea who they are. very good.

Cameron

[James Watts]

I loved this. Reminds me of so many different things. I have had hard times all my life...hell in one right now. And this hit me on so many levels I can't begin to count or to fathom the depth of meaning this piece has. Nice work.

[Ghiasquared]

This hit very close to my heart. Once when very young, I lived with no home and no support for almost a year. I was their because of my own mistakes, yet none of it mattered when trying to rejoin society. So many just can't see why they don't just "get a job" or "take a shower". They don't realize how hard it is when you are the one standing in the cold, with no one to help. I was lucky. I went to a Burger King to clean their parking lot for a meal. Instead the manager took me home gave me a meal, a shower, fresh clothes and a job. I drove by that store, where she still is, the other day. I am married with kids almost twenty years later. I gave her a gift card for Red Lobster for her and her husband. I thanked her for saving my life. Most people would never understand, but she did. Thank you for this wonderful piece. It holds so much meaning for so many, including me.

[Janie Lee]

Most Americans underestimate how the problem of homelessness affects families. About 600,000 families and over 1 million children experience homelessness in the United States On any given night 200,000 veterans are without shelter

Between 150,000 to 200,000 people are homeless for long periods or have repeated episodes of homelessness.

The solution is permanent supportive housing.. now which of our candiates for President would help solve this problem? Some may call these people bums, lazy, drunks, addicts, some would be right, BUT not all the homeless are bums, lazy, drunks or addicts.

(janie) I disagree with you, the answer is helping people get homes of their own that they have rights in and that there is no one there to tell them how to live in them or not, there are no others on top of them all the time and they can grow a flower bed or a garden if that is what they want. Supportive housing, that sounds like psychiatry to me and that is not the answer that is just wrong. Give people hope, give them a chance, give them some f*cking independence! Let freedom ring, let the white doves sing, down with what they are calling mental health and psychiatry! Thanks for writing this so I could find it. The most shall have least and the least shall have most one day. Janie

[P.J. Sebastianus]

Keep the statistics Chloe. This peice is so powerful. In both London and New York I saw homeless people everyday. I am sad to say that I didn't help them when I could have. I am going to be much more understanding and think about what made their lives go to this stage. Thank you again Chloe. I am sure that everyone everywhere, especially the homeless, thank you too.
~Seb

[Kellee]

You always write such powerful pieces. I love reading your work! Keep them coming!! =)

Love,
~Kellee

[Vicky Ann Smith]

Beautifully written and expressed, I think you should keep the statistics in.

Vx

[Dave "Doc" Rogers]

I've read this before but I don't think I commented. This is a good bit of writing. You really grab the imagery well. Good piece. You should submit it, get it published.

Cheers!
Doc.

Current contests:
Worthy Writing - August 2007Aug 1, 2007 - Aug 31, 2007Win Recognition for your writingWell Crafted - August 2007Aug 1, 2007 - Aug 31, 2007Win Recognition for your writing

[Crystal L. Test]

Well done, Chloe. You captured the journey of someone who has given up on life and who's life seems to have given up on her. It is very easy to forget how lucky we all are. Thanks for the reminder.