Tale of Two

Tale of Two 


In the city 
that never sleeps

tourists soak up
the scenery

Bright lights dance
in their dazzled eyes
as they clamor
to see the sights

Offstage

away
from the bustle

huddled in
the shadows

far from the view
of the paying crowd

refugees from our
jobless recovery


fight over the scraps

soon to be cut again
by their deaf government

Cost reduction clamor
from the entrenched
numbers mob

What better place
to slice than the
desperately silent
soon to be majority?

who struggle daily
and face a future
of obsolete uncertainty

smothered by depression

battling to
survive
the biting
winds
of poverty
that blow
defeat through
these dark
city streets