he walks in shadows
through the darkness
never finding peace
never finding home
never finding love
so elusive
so forgotten
so longed for
each thing had meaning
each held purpose
each existed
somewhere he lost
the peace
the home
the love
many see him, invisible
many do not want to see
many chose not to see
yet he existes
long forgotten
bureaucratic systems
acres red tape, delays
denial stamped in red
refusal stamped in red
abandoned
no town could be home
no place could be safe
each night he wanders
lost yet never confused
he stopped asking why
long ago
he needs to eat
he needs to sleep
daylight sleep his only option
cardboard, newspaper, rags
he once had pride
dignity, a name a face
now hidden behind hair
and beard he is nothing
an eyesore
a nuisance
a menace
invisible in plain sight
his new identity
homeless man
all else gone
like lingering smoke
from that one cigarette
left in the ashtray
there but unseen
unnoticed
forgotten
his tomorrow was yesterday
his stomach speaks when hungry
his body moves until exhaustion
he belongs to
no one, nothing
if he vanished
no one would notice
what price is a man's life?
does not every man have value?
does human life have merit?
or does salvation belong
to a chosen few
history is filled
stories of one man
who made a difference
can he ever make a difference?
is he not descendant of Adam, Moses, Caesar, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Shakespeare, D'avinci Jefferson, Washington, Lincoln, Sitting Bull, Roosevelt, Mao, King, Kennedy, Dylan
does not any man belong to every man?
tony scarpa 5/30/2018
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