She knows dumpster food
and dying from two stories up.
Everyday she sees death
in homeless people's faces and in the trees.
She’s haunted by love and death
by slow disease.
Every lost case, kitten and child
makes her fear she’s dying --
sleepily with drugs,
like granny wasting away,
or quick
blood running down her neck.
She’d like to use drugs
to remember or forget.
She’d like to use
sex like a drug to keep
fear at a distance.
But there’s disease in blood heat.
It’s safer to ache.
It’s a war and there’s
only so much pain she will
bear on the street.
At last, she sleeps.
Again her brother falls
to his death. She sees him
wrapped and waiting for the morgue
in white sheets.
She cries, pleads, wakes, shaking.
How much goodness is required,
how much magic
can she manage to
survive this ordeal—
another day?
© Gay Reiser Cannon - All Rights Reserved
This poem is beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteI loved every second of it.
It made me want more and more as I read.
Wonderful.
:)
Oh so sad and so true
ReplyDeleteThank you Bradley and Gwei for your comments. It is a sad commentary that too many young women and their families are living on the streets of the world. Hope her courage shines through.
ReplyDeleteyes - their courage sines through every word Gay - fantastic write!!
ReplyDeleteSo much beauty in its sadness.
ReplyDeleteHey Gay,
ReplyDeleteA gritty tale of survival--hits you in the heart.
Thank you for the affirmation all. I appreciate your comments and your coming by to read! Gay
ReplyDeleteThere is something haunting in the way you get across your description through the poem. It was enjoyable to read your poem from the standpoint of observing your method of dealing with more complex thematic matter. Excellent poem, thanks for posting!
ReplyDeletecrb.
Wow, that is intense and all too real. Thanks for writing this reminder of the grim life and gritty reality for many.
ReplyDeleteI can feel her pain thorugh your words.
ReplyDeletewow. this one has some punch...lots of emotions stirred...i like the grit...great one shot!
ReplyDeleteEfficacious lament, with its wide-blanket-o'-causes and smartly ignored cop-outs (to avoid the awful reality of the situation/s). Emotional, without being excessive - a finer line than most people think.
ReplyDeleteChilling and grim indeed.
ReplyDeleteTo use an old 70's phrase - This is heavy. So much weight and emotion to this poem.
ReplyDeleteHere is my contribution to One Shot this week - The Touch.
Sex like drug to keep fear away... a very powerful thought...and I enjoyed reading the verse.. the imagery is so powerful and the image that you have chosen is so arresting too...
ReplyDeleteॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com
Gay....
ReplyDeleteThis was so good and so powerful.
Fantastic....
Sadly interesting...Life is precious and should be valued while it still exist. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
greatly written Bea, and you touched a hard topic with sensitive lines..nice one shot :)
ReplyDeleteHello Gay!
ReplyDeleteYou display a talent for transporting the souls, hearts, and minds of others to another place, in this case to somewhere many of us have not been...yet!
GOOD one Shot. Thank you for sharing this....
BTW, I have looked EVERYWHERE for the email. Any chance of a repost? fiddlemn@gmail.com
(That's FIDDLEMN--no "a" in word 'man' OK?-grin!
Gritty and beautifully written. The writing enjoyable, the subject very sad.
ReplyDeleteYour One Shot can be taken on many levels, Gay.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope 'she' finds a salvation somewhere.
This really hurt to read - not because of the writing (which is beautiful) but because of the subject matter. So many live like this...it's hard to even begin to imagine.
ReplyDeletehaunting and true everyday...so much we do not see that goes on - how much magic will it take? that is a good question...bkm
ReplyDeleteThis is a powerful, gritty scene of reality, and raises awareness about the kind of pain this woman endures trying to survive. The feeling is palpable. Highly effective poem. I especially love the lines "there's only so much pain she will bear on the streets." Good work.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your vivid and complimentary comments. This was a true story.
ReplyDeleteThis young woman was put on the streets with her younger brother and her grandmother. The brother and grandmother died before a shelter saved her. I was so moved by her story I decided to try to capture it in this form. Initially I had a second part putting it in contrast to the lives my friends and I live. However, her story stood alone.
I hope she has found the life she deserved. She was indeed a brave and noble young woman.
survival is at times haunting for sure! the last verse was esp. well written I felt!
ReplyDeleteMy One Shot Is HERE:
http://leonnyes.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/the-elements/
PattiKen and the Muses.
ReplyDelete(I'm logged in as Anonymous because Blogger's being wonky today.)
This is such a powerful and sad poem. To read in your comment that it is true is just heartbreaking. Beautifully written, Gay.
Patti and Others - I know that these hard economic times and natural disasters have put many on the streets and out of their homes. I am concerned for so many struggling at this time. I thought this young woman stood as a symbol for the struggle of trying to get back on one's feet.
ReplyDelete...how sweet the sound?
ReplyDeleteHaunting. When put to the song as well, it gives one shudders. Powerful, tragic, but powerful. You have looked into the gritty reality of the world, gay, and done a fine job exposing it. A sad subject, but one more people need to realize.
There are so many good lines here, but My vafovirite is seeing "death in the faces of the poeple and in the trees." Very fine.
ReplyDeleteYou write from such a beautiful place of compassion. May we never become immune to their pain.
ReplyDeleteso very, very sad, but so very, very well written...a great share for one shot..cheers pete
ReplyDeleteTouched me very deeply this one my friend...you have crafted such a powerful poem here...and I thank you!! Hugs xx
ReplyDeletenice oneshot
ReplyDeletelot of emotion :)
Powerful and painful.
ReplyDeleteDeep and powerful. So emotional..
ReplyDeleteecstasies
Sad truths, extremely emotional and very well written.... ~April
ReplyDeleteThanks to all of you for coming by and reading this. I always feel so sorry for the things and people that I can't help. But I know raising consciousness is a first step and maybe through our work, we can do that. You are all fine writers and I appreciate being in your company.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow is always another day. And our lives can change in a New York Minute. Nice write. Love and Light, Sender
ReplyDeleteoh, this has made em cry... reminded me of my late brother and all his suffering before he left us with all this suffering
ReplyDeleteThe poem is amazing and so is the image
Thanks for sahring
thanks for visiting
:)
Dulce