34 Moments-- Days of the Poor

Location

1.      Late night trains going by a dark apartment

2.      Cold Campbell’s from the can

3.      $5 left in the back of your wallet

4.      Goodwill

5.      Sleeping over the vent in the kitchen ‘cause the bedroom is too cold

6.      The broke and broken nodding to you on street corners

7.      Biting your lip when bills come

8.      Stealing water from convenient stores

9.      Counting all your money five times just in case

10.  Painting color in a world without any

11.  Picking up money in gutters

12.  The joy in smiling

13.  Tracing years on your skin

14.  Running out of fingers when you count your mistakes

15.  Breaking open piggybanks

16.  Staring at a tattered soul in a cracked mirror

17.  Eviction notices

18.  Pink slips

19.  Desperately trying to climb up to touch the poverty line with the tips of your fingers

20.  Listening to a man yell at you because you scuffed his new Oxfords

21.  Poverty taxes

22.  Praying for colds to go away

23.  Overnight shifts

24.  Crying when you spill food on the floor

25.  Trying to break the metal band of sorrow chained around your wrist

26.  Fumbling with peanut packages from gas stations

27.  Running

28.  Hot tears after the bank takes everything

29.  Knowing where the shelter is

30.  Hating all your options

31.  Pacing in front of the TV when the President makes an announcement and hoping he’ll remember people like you

32.  Being pitied

33.   Knowing that they don’t really want to help

34.  Wondering how you got here

Comments

Additional Resources

Get AI Feedback on your poem

Interested in feedback on your poem? Try our AI Feedback tool.
 

 

If You Need Support

If you ever need help or support, we trust CrisisTextline.org for people dealing with depression. Text HOME to 741741