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Post by goldenmyst on May 1, 2019 20:49:34 GMT -6
Parking Lot Woman
A parking lot beggar woman Who hustles the customers With a toothless smile She walks the hot pavement Like a leper among fools Whose alms plate is her hands In an act so pitiful There is no going back To a dignity she once knew She counts her coins with cracked skin On fingers which remember When she washed his dishes While he watched her from the kitchen table Until a stroke took him out of reach With his eyes vacant as a refugee From a land of bones
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2019 2:12:55 GMT -6
Very sad. And we see them almost everywhere it seems anymore. Part of it is unfortunate circumstances for the individual as here in your poem. Part of it is society. It seems every time I go to the grocery store I am approached and what makes it hard is knowing when the person approaching you is legit because of the ones out there who are not. I try to pay attention to their attire to give me an idea. Mostly I donate some online to legitimate charities. For animals too. Great writing!
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Post by goldenmyst on May 2, 2019 5:09:47 GMT -6
Michael, thank you for sharing your experience with donating to the homeless through charities. That is probably the best way to do it. I too see them every time I go to Walmart. Often they have a story such as they are trying to get home and need gas money. Glad you liked my writing my friend.
John
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Post by lostineternity99 on May 2, 2019 5:12:17 GMT -6
Such a sad poem, written with deep compassion ... homelessness is a crisis in this country that people rarely talk about.
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Post by goldenmyst on May 2, 2019 5:14:50 GMT -6
Thanks for reading Rick, my friend. Indeed it seems homelessness is not polite to talk about in many circles. And it is a crisis of major proportions which tests our humanity, our will to care. Thanks for reading my friend.
John
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Post by Catlady2710 on May 2, 2019 13:44:35 GMT -6
So very sad, and unfortuately, it is very easy to become one of these victims of society.
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Post by QueenFoxy on May 2, 2019 18:04:12 GMT -6
It truly is sad. There are lots of families in our society that are only a pay check away from homelessness and once you get there, it is so hard to come back. Without an address, no place to get mail, no bathing and grooming facilities, how does one find work? A sad story, John.
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Post by goldenmyst on May 3, 2019 21:50:16 GMT -6
Foxy, you addressed the key facts that keep homeless people on the street. Indeed the homeless live in an impossible world were the fundamental things we take for granted aren't there. So many once had families but have grown old and their families have died or washed their hands of their aunts and grandparents. Thank you, my friend, for understanding these things. I have had people tell me that the homeless choose to live on the street. That is absurd. I remember my first leaving home and finding myself in a strange city where I knew no one with no job or place to live. I found a room at the Y luckily. But so many have no one to turn to.
John
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Post by eezebard on May 4, 2019 13:43:38 GMT -6
It saddens the heart to even think about it... much feeling here
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Post by goldenmyst on May 5, 2019 9:17:04 GMT -6
Thanks for reading eezebard. It is a very sad reality of our world.
John
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Post by goldenmyst on May 5, 2019 9:19:01 GMT -6
Thanks for your incisive comment Cat. Indeed these people are victims of our society. The crisis that leads to their lack of a home is manmade through our economic system. You are exactly right.
John
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Post by Musical74 on May 6, 2019 8:30:11 GMT -6
I try to give a little because almost always what caused them to become homeless is something beyond their control, I very much understand their plight and want to help them...even if it's only a dollar or two. These people feel trapped and usually don't have the means to get out of it...very good writing!
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Post by QueenFoxy on May 6, 2019 22:59:16 GMT -6
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Post by goldenmyst on May 7, 2019 10:47:30 GMT -6
Musical74, thank you for your empathy and understanding. Indeed often their families have washed their hands of them because of their mental illness episodes which become too much they feel to handle. Also they feel they are adults whom it isn't their responsibility to take care of. It used to be the mentally ill would be housed in huge hospitals. But since deinstitutionalization, these hospitals have mostly closed. One psychiatrist passionately argued for reopening them. But with the advent of the new psych meds, the idea is that they can make it in society. But too often they are considered too well by the government but too sick by employers and apartments. Hence they find themselves in an impossible world where no one wants them.
John
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Post by goldenmyst on May 7, 2019 10:50:36 GMT -6
Very sad indeed Foxy. Even more so because it is a manmade avoidable problem.
XoXoXo John
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