Poem Number 1764

behind the eyes

She sits wrapped in layers
cold pavement says "home"
invisible to naked eyes
she is still invisible
.
Sleep comes at will
its been weeks now
maybe
maybe more
time doesn't mean anything
any more
.
Eating at pities table
the company is her reflection
saturating her eyes
their souls peek out
from behind familiar weariness
.
Stories become a tangle of words
their desperation
and resignation push against each other
begging to be heard
begging for help
to get out
to be free
the flavorless "someone to take care of me"
added to this soup
.
she used to dream
when a pillow was a common thing
that was years ago
now she keeps one eye open
mistrust has pushed everything else away
she pulls her ragged coat closer
wishing someone would see her
choose to see her
understand that their places could be traded
in a heart beat
.
The rage is gone now
dreams have gone silent now
she's waiting now
for the one to arrive
hoping it will be soon
this has all become over much
she's ready to look
stand behind the eyes
and look
she wonders how she'll look
from behind the eyes
.
..
In this country almost 50 percent of the population is homeless now. For years the homeless were mostly ignored by pretty much everyone who wasn't among their ranks. Finally the numbers have reached a place where it's so big that it's impossible not to see the homeless.
I've been homeless so I know what living in that space is like. I'm thankfully not there right now. I've seen so many people who are homeless who see the world every day, just like this.
.
W