A thru Z (The ghetto and me)

A run down shack with an old alley out back is what I call home

B eaten down neighborhood slowly turns into a ghetto

C ausing it's residents such havoc and confusion

D esperate children run the streets

E veryone wonders where their parents are

F ilthy delapitated boarded up houses and vacant buildings

G arages, highway over passes and railroad cars painted with graffiti

H alfway houses, drug rehab centers, battered women's shelters on the rise

I ndigent, impoverished and needy are the homeless people on the streets

J ust a few of the atrociously horrible things I see here in the hood

K eep off the grass, beware of the dog, for rent and for sale signs everywhere

L iving here is a joke as the drug dealers openly sell their lethal drugs

M unicipal schools have had to lock their doors

N o one enters without passing through a metal detector

O ppressed population of the inner city by thugs toting guns and knives

P olice departments having to make cutbacks, less officers patrolling

Q uestions arise in our worried minds

R estoration of inner city houses doesn't help but a selected few

S cavengers looking through trash for food, clothing and disgarded treasures

T his is the plight of the underpriveleged poor and a stagnant economy

U nemployment is on the rise and there are too many low paying jobs

V ice versa either way you go it's a catch twenty-two

W hy does it have to be like this I wonder...

X tra! Xtra! Read all about it! The newspapers scream of crime on

Y our streets as you sit there in your cozy living room and look the other way

Z ap! You just push the button on your remote control TV change the channel

Reviews

[R J Askew]

Ach, this is a portrait of a dying society. There is something deeply wrong at the heart of this society. It is tremendously sad. I used to thing Congo the worst place on earth... The question is: what is to be done? A fine write that bares all. It is sad to admit that things are not right in our own lives ... this poem goes further.

[David Lewis Paget]

The problem is, of course, that there's only so much that one person can do to change the course of events. Perhaps it's up to the people themselves in those neighborhoods to effect change. Form civil groups, patrol the neighborhood, get out the paint brush. As long as they're prepared to sit back and do nothing, those conditions will continue to exist.

[An owl on the moon]

So very gripping, stirring, and vivid, your expressions flow so powerfully through this form. This is such a visual work, bringing to us clearly the plight of the cities. Amazing write!

[Samuel Dickens]

One of the many reasons why I could never live in a city. This must have been a good bit of work, Deb. Great job!

[Nish Nish the Fish]

This is really eye-opening. You're right so many of us do just turn the other way or change the channels, you've waken up a situation that really needs to be handled, and i guess it doesnt help you by saying it needs to be handled...cus everyone says that, but who actually does anything? i must include myself here.

i love they way you describe your surroundings, your unique word choice allows me to place myself in your shoes, metaphorically ofcourse, i could never imagine living in the "hood"

another thought your poem arises in my brain; you know how all the kids in school are always saying things like "oh im so hood," or "im such a gangster.." etc, ur poem makes me wonder why they say these things, why i sometime say these things, because none of us ever really know what its like to really be "hood/gangster" unless we've lived through it. i kind of want to stop doing that...its just like any other judgement that people make, whether its about people with disabilities, or blondes or asians..etc why cancel this out?

mleh sorry for that unusual thought...ur poem really has enlightened me about this.
very well done!
nice flow of words, i love how you used the A-Z concept!
thank you for sharing :) keep um comin!