Hunger in the Streets

Hunger lay in the streets—
yes, hunger lies in the streets.

New faces, new places
they travel each day
searching for redemption
revival—

Anything!

They’ve fled lands barren of hope,
where dreams once lived and died,
and now
they search again—
for the dream.

Still, hunger waits in the street.
Still, hunger waits in the streets.

Onward citizens, onward!

Search for the elusive metal: a nugget— 

hope, hope!

Gaunt-eyed children stare,
life receding, hope retreating
there is the hunger. 

Down at the bank.
Down at the store.
There is hunger.

A cry, faint at first,
rises.

Who could guess the shame they bear
as dreams dissolve in their hands?

Stark reality, freedoms tossed
they do what they must to survive.

Ho then congressman! Ho then tax man!
We have no bread, take pity!

They sit, hollowed,
ghosts in chairs.
Breath ceases,
yet their eyes still plead.

Who will give them breath?
Breathe—
sigh— 

their children cry
On you we rely!

But tears fall to stone.
Words drift unheard—
years wasted, fears buried.

Yet still,
the yearning rises.
Bought with the sweat of laborers.
Still searching
for better, for more.

Onward, upward—bless this house.

Stretch forth and cry—
you enemies of my soul!
I fight for the freedom
to sing in the streets.

Generations rose,
never doubting the climb.
They believed
shame was temporary.
Everyone deserves
their moment in the light.

But now—
nameless, faceless, masses—

stand
crying Hallelujah! Let us live!

How do you hold the waters of life
as they slip through your fingers?

Your shelter built.
Your life mapped.
Now—gone.

You wander in hunger,
pleading heaven for redemption,
for all that has vanished—

your fears, your tears, 

all of the years—
you worked and bled on the throne:

The throne of deception,

 the throne of desire
You gave more,
as your hope climbed higher.

You worked. You planned.
But your dreams—
they shattered in the dust,
scattered on the street

where hunger lies in wait.

Hearts stilled by headlines,
buried in madness.
Lies whispered and swallowed:
There’s nothing to fear.

But no one listens.
No one sees
what silence hides.
Yet it lingers—

A presence near—
the reaper watches.
Charon waits,
oar in hand.

Each fallen stone
from your crumbling world—
unnoticed.

Each step you take in sand—
a mirage.

The walls collapse behind you
as you walk on.

Grasping—
still grasping—
for something real.

And the children cry in the streets.
Yes,
the children cry in the streets.

Silent Springs

We are burning, each day yearning
For the freedom we were promised
Every day a blur, it is hazy
like a gauzy film of dust

Helpless we go, reaching beyond
Reason has fled
All we do is toil, for nothing
Really we're all dead

All we have is this moment, we have enough
Our economy turns on our hopes and dreams
Now so empty, as we empty the earth
We don't notice the silent springs

Broken Boundaries

Share the New Year with the old

compare the bright shiny newness

as a copper penny rolling forth

light as a feather in substance and quality

I give thought to the shifting tides

wondering how patience can be turned into a dagger

pulling through me a decade at a time

I see shiny idealism

and wish for my own

passions intermingled and stifled

ignited and put to shame in a breath

I hide my face as you mock the truths I have shared

wanting more than I can give you

not understanding

that although you crossed the line

it still exists