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.

You send a powerful message. I have lived in a shelter, albeit for a very short time, but I have met those souls, down on their luck for one reason or another. Too many die alone with no one who cares enough. All most of them need is a leg up, to mount the steed of life once more, but most would rather point and laugh and stare. Very good social commentary. Perhaps it will open someone's eyes to the reality that exixts in our country.

[Julian]

There is not much i can add to the many reviews..it seems you captured many hearts with this piece...including mine. Julian:)

[[untitled]]

This is very disturbing. Thanks.

[Michael Carr]

don't have to tell me, i've experienced it first hand.
it's a touching and powerful piece.
however due to the extreame length (for a poem) it sorta wears thin at times.
still it boasts nice imagery and a well done structure/voice.

[Monday Parker]

I am glad this was the first poem of yours that I read. So meaningful and deep. There is a song by Sade called Pearl its about a woman in Somalia struggling to survive. The song has this slow dark haunting feel to it. The song feels like to me should be playing in the background of your poem. Stirring really. It�s beautiful and tragic. Very good job.

[Anata]

Wow, this one is very catchy! Well all of your poems are :)
Once again you have proven to us what a great writer you are.
This is a very harsh subject, and one that deserves being seen. You told us how it is, for real, and the fact that you have put the statistics beneath the poem emphasizes all the words you have written here. You made a statement, a beautiful hand reaching out to help.
Very nice write!

[Erotic Goddess]

A book of poetry
a purple silk scarf
a comb with most of it's teeth missing

Wonderful description, and this was a truly moving piece my dear. You did an amazing job and had me totally enthralled. I enjoyed your view on this and the way you wrote it with such truth and honesty.

xxoxx

[Staci Brown]

Wow, great touching read Chloe! You caught the essence of this plight with perfect observation. I hope that's all this was for you, observation and not the hard first person truth that comes with being on the streets... If it is a part of your past it's made you a stronger person today to have risen through the struggles of being homeless.

You struck so many different chords of memories past for me with this beautiful poem... I once found myself a street dweller when i was a young teen runaway... I remember being told I didn't know how good I had it at home... well... let's just say they didn't live in that home... The streets, while far from a roof over your head and food when you want or need it always there..., safety from the dregs of society... yea the streets are their own kind of ugly...

Another memory you rekindled happened about a year ago, while driving a cab here in the city of Phoenix... I had a call to pick up a young girl, maybe 20 yrs old if that, from one of the local hospitals to bring to the homeless shelter down in south phoenix... The worst part of town of course. Why the hell do we only allow shelters in combat zones??? This girl, she could have been your very own Jane. She too had no clue who she was at the time. She was found in a stairwell unconscious and brought to the ER. After a psych evaluation they released her. With no where to go and no clue who she was... I spent the entire day with her trying to help her remember who she was to no avail. She finally realized I didn't want to bring her to a homeless shelter and leave her there. Alone. On her own. No, I didn't. She was somebody with a life and she was about to become one of the countless faces that exist as street dwellers. I gave her what I could and dropped her off. She had a fire burning inside her though, which I hope helped carry her out of the burnt ashes to rise like the namesake of our city. I want to believe she did.

A few months ago I wrote an article about the homeless veterans which turned into a piece about the homeless in general... Over 40% of the homeless in America are families... and all those children...

I remember back in the 80's when I was the editor of a music publication in New York we had a writer featured who wrote about the Republican Convention in NYC and how they went around the city clearing all the homeless off the streets nearby so the media wouldn't catch the plight on video... I forget which election that was now... I believe it was Daddy Bush though... I doubt our current candidates care either.

However I do know one person who's been stirring of the nest. A guy in Tuscon I know who works for a Mental Health facility down there and works with the homeless... Quite a few on the streets have been released from inpatient mental health to find themselves on the streets and without any medications, making them a danger to themselves and sometimes to others. This friend just spoke to Congress three weeks ago in DC to try and raise federal funding for more homeless shelters here in the state of Arizona. Due to our warm weather year round we have a very large number of homeless on our streets. Especially young teens..., and barely any shelters.

Think about all the military bases we've closed in the past 20 years... They sit there decaying. Barracks that could be used for housing! And the bases themselves with all their educational facilities could be used again to retrain the homeless if need be... So many people have been forced out of the workplace due to a gap in technological education. There was a time when our country flourished with manufacturing jobs! NAFTA saw to the end of that prosperity in America.

I just don't understand how we can spend billions of dollars on space exploration (mind you I LOVE space exploration, but not at the cost of human lives) and wars of CHOICE; and not take care of the blight that our nation's homeless dwell in everyday. Then again, when the few homeless shelters that do exist are placed in the combat zones of most cities I'm not all that surprised...

I'm sorry Chloe, I know I'm guilty of preaching to the choir... You're making your mark in history with poems like Jane! Sorry I stepped up on the soapbox there and went off...

Well done poetic verse! You have a great voice to share with all of humanity!

Faerie Blessings!

[Ashentara]

powerful poem
god it made me teary eyed...

[Gary Starta]

Excellent poem...great rhythm, meaning...
Good Work.