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.

[Rylan Batten]

very good poem....very powerful message...very good use of the english language. thanks for posting, and keep it up

[Kevin Reader]

a great narrative with a real message

[IMOGEAN]

I would like to honor you for writing about Jane. I do believe I have seen her, just up the street, her suitcase in hand. The look of aloneness and discomfort shows in her eyes. Yes, the angels will come get her, someday. She will no longer be cold and no longer suffer loneliness and defeat. She will inherit peace and be favored as one of the great human hearts that was ever to roam this cold cruel world. I will stop for Jane and give her a smile. I will give her kindness and she will see it in my eyes.

So many people ignore the Jane's of this world. They pretend she does not exist and look through her as if she were invisible. How can society ignore her pain and not care? There are some who do see her, care for her and will pray for her. But there for more that won't, than will. A very sad story it is.

This poem is powerful, I know because it made me feel.

You have truly, touched my heart Chloe..Thank you...

Happy Holidays...
Imogean~

[David_Smith]

A good yet long verse dealing with social problems! It took me a long time to read it, not that of too difficult words but a big pressure. If everyone did cry for the social prolem, our Earth would become better!

[Phil Sanders]

Brilliantly written .. so emotvie .. so poignant ...

[Victoria Lee~]

This a brilliant, thought provoking write. I am really impressed with your writing style..Thanks for the writing this as we all need a reminder at times to be grateful for what we have. And to always pay it forward.

The statics should stay. That was the one two punch to ensure your message was heard.

[RachelleB]

this poem is awesome...very moving and imaginitive and sensitive to the plight of the homeless...and despair...it wrenched my heart....

[A.M. Nelson]

isn't the second line just a fancy way of saying 'shoeless'?

"it holds all her belongings " don't you need a slight pause after this line?

[Mae-Alice]

I can feel everything she is going through.
It's heartbreaking.
I love the way you wrote this.

I think you should keep the statistics.

~Mae-Alice~

[Evans O Ogbebor]

a narrative which drips of emotion, loses itself at times, but is able to carry the day, a very good job