poem: I Walked By Last Night

{Later note: This is embellished, but is based on a real event one night.}

I Walked By Last Night

I walked by last night and
Looked in your window.
I saw you dressed in a bathrobe and slippers,
Drinking hot chocolate and watching TV.
Outside, I stood freezing in the snow.
I stood watching you,
Vicariously living through you.
Wishing I had a home,
Wishing I had heat,
Wishing I had love.
I used to believe in God, but
God has forsaken me in your favor.
God is not love.
God is a child,
Playing with us like toys.
One day, maybe God will throw
You out in the street, too, and then
You will feel the way
I do.
I walked by last night and
Looked in your window.

poem: The Streets of Berkeley

The Streets of Berkeley
Sunburned, but cold as hell,
Oh, the stories she could tell.

All of you just pass her by,
Is her life to be a lie?

No one listens, no one cares,
No one looks. No one dares.

She only eats one meal a day,
She doesn't laugh, she doesn't play.

She has no tapes, she has no books,
Gets no respect, only dirty looks.

Someday you may see the light,
Someday you may share her plight.

poem: Out

{Later note: My parents kicked me out and I became homeless June 24, 1991.}

Out
When youth was lost
In front of my parents,
I didn't cry.
But I did long for the wine
Of youth lost,
Of innocence lost,
Of pride, freedom, and hope lost.
But I didn't cry
Because I know that they'll use it against me.
Scream,
Claw,
Curse the Goddess,
But go on.
I am an outcast,
Truly rejected,
No friends, no direction, no hope, no tears.
Too stunned to feel anything
But pain.
When I look at my eyes in the mirror,
I see fear and confusion.
I see someone desperately seeking for something
That is not there.
I see the time for tears is past,
And the time to fight for my life has begun.
Ready...
Begin Round One.