I am a forgotten one
Though you see me each day
On random street corners
And in the parks that are your playgrounds.
My home is the concrete
Outside the elegant building
Where you work each day
Or behind the restaurant where you chat and laugh
And shovel down your steak & lobster.
Your eyes stare without seeing;
When you notice me at all
You just see a tattered tramp
Troubling you for space change.
You don’t see the lines and scars on my face
Or the wounds I hold within
In your world, I am discarded
Like the remnants of your last meal
I am forgotten
Like the chill of long ago winters.
Your vision of me:
A nuisance if not a menace,
A disgusting drunk lurking in an alley,
Bothering you with my many needs,
Cluttering your streets
As unsightly litter.
And in the rare moments
When you toss me
A “good morning” or random smile
You don’t see the warmth that fills my heart.
And as you settle down to bed
You don’t feel the lethal wind
That whips across my nest
Of cardboard and thick blankets
Stacked top the pavement
Your soft shoes trample every day;
When you slide into dreams of comfort
Those dreams don’t include
The forgotten one.
