Destitution

Destitution


I fear financial failure,
loss of control,
abandonment,
being dependent
with no one to depend on --
destitution.

Flotsam on the ocean
buffeted by wind and waves --
other peoples' wind and waves.
No food, or shelter from the elements,
or from humanity --
no future.

Homeless, having nothing,
no plans for the future,
nowhere to go,
nothing to do,
no end in sight,
no respect.

We see the destitute as aliens --
we assist, on occasion,
we pity, on occasion,
ignore, on occasion,
brutalize, on occasion --
they wait.