Mendicants Slumber

 

In the light of day when the city is bright and free

they roam in dead earnest to sell or simply be

A diminished identity cries for recognition

a job or some longed for and much needed ambition

 

People know who they are and from where they come

they are but as parts of an eternal sum

Their eyes cannot conceal defeat and dismay

as they search for an opportunity to survive each day

 

When night culls the sun with inky darkness

the mendicant knows where best be his mattress

Shop door ways or coverings in the thicket

are where those sleep who possess no ticket

 

The compassionate and generous offer some board

but this comes in the shape of cardboard

Left out in the street as if to say

here ends your bitter and fruitless day