You Or Me

Homelessness can happen to any of us....you or me.

A woman digs inside the trash to find some food to eat,
it's obvious her day to day is lived amongst the streets,
her clothes are nothing more than tattered rags; I truly see,
that people point and stare at her, she could be you or me.

Imagine if you lost your job and bills aint gettin paid,
dynamics of this life do change when scrill aint gettin made,
the hole can be so deep for some to not care much at all,
they'd kneel in urine puddles in the stairway up the hall.

To feed the need for capital they'd play with bat and balls,
a person's pride sinks lower from the higher that they fall,
and on the way to impact they may bounce and smack a wall,
this country has a safety net but still can't catch em all.

It could be you or me asleep and snoring by the train,
with body dripping water from that pouring kind of rain,
the race and gender differs, the results are all the same,
that's living; life's a gamble, win or lose it's all a game.

Degrees that separate us aren't high like summer heat,
they're more like dead of winter snow; the sidewalk underneath,
time differs though in essence it depends on who you meet,
some folks take years to lose it all, for others, just 2 weeks.

We all should count our blessings though it's hard to do with strife,
it always could be worse, no food to eat or shining light,
your bedroom suddenly becomes an alleyway at night,
your table's now a garbage can of sustenant delight,

and God forbid there're children out here living off the land,
you know the mental strain is tough when living hand to hand,
or hand to mouth, it's all about how quick things turn around,
the damage 3rd degree if life decides to burn you down.

A woman digs in trash and finds an imitation stole,
she cares not what it's made of during winter days of cold,
her faith in God so solid she'll brave through it truthfully,
before you laugh at her just think, that could be you or me.

©2010
The Cunning Linguist

Author's Note

Written in 2010 after a chance encounter I had on my way to work.