Downtown San Francisco, it’s not bare.

Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, Union Square.

Westfield Mall, Gucci, Couture, Louis Vuitton.

The rich, the tourists, and the ones who are well off.

Walk two blocks down from the San Francisco City Hall.

Shelters, tents, needles, and human manure.

Eyes that see what you do not see,

Stomachs and pockets empty with what you have.

Rotting wounds, unbearable miasma.

No light, no escape, no friends, no support.

Isolated, hurt.

Permanently damaged, lost.

Grip your backpack tight.

Don’t make eye contact.

Disregard the remarks clearly meant for you.

Keep calm. They are humans too!

They are not a monolithic group.

Teens are out here too.

Why are you assuming that they mean bad?

They don’t look mad.

Why are you walking so fast? Slow down.

Besides the remarks, there is no evident danger around.

Why are you looking for people like you?

Wait, but who exactly are you?

You have failed your own conviction.

What a discouraging contradiction.

Look up.

What is he offering her? Why is she drinking it?

Look down.

Pretend you don’t witness it.

Don’t think about it, forget.

Her eyes roll back. How much further can they get?

Now she is not stressed.

But you are because you have failed.

Wasn’t the whole point to prove that you would not be scared?

You know the reasons, you know the causes.

You know it’s not them, you know what the law is.

Out on the streets for too long.

Must move along.