Asleep Tonight

[TrailBlazer]

This is a poem I wrote as I began to think existentially about all the people in the world outside of my own affluent christian bubble.

 

 

She is back-to the counter,

Wipes her eyes on the edge of her apron,

Puts on a plastic smile,

And takes my order on a greasy paper slip

Half-hour ‘till close

Where will she be,

When she cries herself to sleep tonight?

 

She is struggling to make ends meet,

With a child on each hip,

Pulls crumpled ones from the reaches of her bag,

And decides between the milk and the bread

A dollar short on cash

Will she be alone,

When she cries herself to sleep tonight?

 

He is washing his face in the sink at Central Station,

His tarp bag of belongings sits at his feet,

He blows his reddened nose,

And pulls his knotted dreads into in a rubber band

Coldest night of the year

Where will he lay,

While he cries himself to sleep tonight?

 

She is running a punishing speed through the rain;

Shoes strike puddle and pavement; as anger strikes her heart;

Her footsteps echo in the darkness,

Her prayers go unheard

Ten ‘till midnight

Will she ever stop running,

So she can cry herself to sleep tonight?

 

He is hand-in-hand with the only one who ever loved him

The man at his side is not a mistake

Pride on his sleeve, but shame in his eyes

Wishing he could hide the feelings he feels inside

Strangers’ ugly stares; judgmental glares

Aren’t we all the same,

When we cry ourselves to sleep at night?

[AnnaNymity]

Trail: fantastic! I love the imagery--and the innate empathy.