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.

[Rose Kelly]

Really wonderful piece.
It is a national disgrace to allow so much preventable suffering.

[Siddartha Beth Pierce]

Thank you for giving such a voice to those who are not able sometimes to speak for themselves. A poignant and serious write about a serious problem in America - one that so many snicker and snide at without taking the time to get the story of the lives they pass everyday. Thank you for sharing such depth of emotion.
Light,
Siddartha

[Valentine]

I wish everyone in the world was like my fathe was..To him if it was any part blood family he would never cast it out, no matter what problems they had..He even let neighbor boys live in the garage and my mom fed them and let them take baths and washed their colthes..It is going to get worse before it gets better I am afraid and then we all will be in danger of being robbed or having our homes burned out of jealousy,,It is time for the world to speak out and not just at American level but at the state level..Great write..God bless Valentine

[Adel Eyes]

well written thank you for sharing

[Yvonne Heidt]

I have chills from the tippy top of my head all the way down to my toes. You did a BEAUTIFUL job with this. Look how many people that you touched - judging from your reviews and myself. I was homeless once, and it continues to be my worst nightmare. That feeling - it seems - will never go away.

What hit me, was the child waiting in Heaven. I have one, also.

Excellent job, Chloe.

[King Pooface]

If a house could be called little. I've always wanted to own an island and just chill out. That'd be my dream home. Luckily I've never been homeless. And call me an a*****e, but probably around eighty percent of people put themselves in such position. The other twenty percent deserve pity.

[Jonathan Bryant Dean]

I lived on and off the streets for two years when I was 18 and 19. I went through a really rough time, living out of my car until it broke down, and then living in a horse stall at the fairgrounds. I was not a drunk or a drug addict. I did not touch either substance, yet I was homeless. I had to work through my own personal problems, and luckily my light was not the same as Jane's.
I almost died, of a burst appendix, but I ended up swallowing my pride and letting my father help me. I moved back home and from there started my journey over again.
Not all of the homeless have the support of family, I was lucky.

My reason for living on the streets was personal pride. I was too proud to ask for my fathers help.

I appreciate your poem, it is an important message to share.
JBD

[R. MonaLeza]

It's sad how often we walk by this every day and don't even notice it anymoe. So many people don't realize how just one small life event can put them out there. It is very rarely a choice and more often created by things we can't control. Having been homeless, with children, I can relate to this with a deep sadness.

Very poignant and definately written in a way to force the reader to empathize. Bravo.

[Phill Oz O'fee]

I can relate to Jane�s plight as my employment deals directly with the issues of homelessness. Sad as your story was, it is not untypical of others in similar circumstances. But by His grace �.

And yes, the statistical information accompanying this piece is necessary to highlight the enormity of the problem.

Thank you for sharing and bringing this subject into an open forum!

God�s Blessing
Phillip

[~shadow~]

Sister Dear,

This by far is one of your best poems yet!!! It shows such emotion and reminds me as well how thankful we should be. Very well written!!!