“A Busy Street”

by  Bonnie Briggs

Published: June 25, 2009

Welfare, UIC, FBA,
Facts of street life every day.
Liquor, beer, crack cocaine,
Found in almost every lane.
The panhandler casts a hopeful eye,
To all the people passing by.
The hooker, on the corner there,
Smokes, and fusses with her hair.
The guy in the doorway, what’s he smoking?
Could that be a joint he’s toking?
See that guy by the door?
He’s just been to the liquor store.
Lost denizens of the street,
Many of whom you’ll never meet.
But they’re all human, with faces and names,
No different from us, just the same.
They have aspirations, hopes, and dreams,
They have stories to tell, reams and reams.
So, don’t ignore them as you pass by,
Let these people give you the eye.
Talk to them, sit down on the curb.
Let their world, your world disturb.
Do you dare to let them tell?
Of their long, long trip to Hell?

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