Empty eyes
Devoid of hope
She tries to be strong on
twelve dollars an hour
Doesn’t even buy groceries
or pay the inflated rent.
Tech companies
wandering in
taking up territories
and inflating pricing
in her low rent city.
Hip new joints and
hang outs pop up that
are out of her price range.
Cool for the young
millennials but
Subway and McD’s
are her splurge.
Mister can I have
a dime?
Mrs. can you spare
some change?
The look of poverty
on her face
Discouraged, hopeless
Where to next?
Wandering the streets
of the city,
Hoping for a break
Hoping this poverty
isn’t a punishment
from God.
For not having the
right attitude.
for not being positive
enough like in
the book The Secret.
She was not born to
privilege,
With a silver spoon in
her mouth.
She was raised in the
city,
The projects.
She is hungry, hungry for
food,
hungry for moving
up in the chain.
hungry for a nice place
to lay her head after
a long day.
Hungry to get out of this
cast like system,
not acknowledged in the US
but still it exists.
Nevertheless, brother can
you spare a dime?
If not a dime, then maybe
some empathy or kindness?

Julie 2018