We Are All People
A little girl sits in her room all alone, tears stroking her cheeks quietly.
Her parents are fighting, curses fill the air, and secretly she wants to flee.
She hears a thud against the wall, a slamming door, and a muffled shout.
Her mother lies broken, across the floor, as her father’s tires squeal out.
In yet another house, a small boy holds a bear, and keeps his tears at bay.
Despite his young years, his heart has grown old, he just wants a home fore to stay.
This house is the third home, he’s had this year, for his behavior has been deemed ‘wild’.
He’s angry, he’s tired, he’s given up on life, but he’s only just a small child.
A block down the street, outside the bar, an elderly man trips, and stumbles.
He’s buried his problems in fountains of beer, the cap of which he fumbles.
But the pain rarely fades, as the memories flood in, of his wife who recently passed.
Now he’s all alone, no family or friends, he drinks out his days till his last.
In a station nearby, a young man pulls out a gun, as he demands every dollar.
He needs the money to repay a debt, to a violent man whom he has followed.
His life is at stakek should he not get enough, but he knows he must certainly try.
Should he get caught, or not pay his debt, his options are prison or die.
A single mother next door, lies alone on the couch, wishing she could sleep.
Her mind rattles on with the stresses of life, worried about enough food to eat.
“Pay the bills, go to school, be a good mom, and you better keep the house clean.”
It’s times like this, she wishes she had, anyone on which she could lean.
In an ambulance now, a man is quickly rushed by, a bat has hit his face.
It was swung by another, filled with senseless hate, solely based upon race.
The aggressor is smug, and with an eveil, proud grin, he sneers as they put him in cuffs.
While the police are hoping, some praying inside, that they got there soon enough.
Just a mile away, in a smokey night club, a woman dances in the bright lights.
She loathes this job, despises the crowd, and she hates her entire life.
She feels no one can see the woman inside, sho she really wants to be.
She’s just a body, in a perverted world, for everyone to see.
In a church across town, a woman cries, as she seeks forgiveness from above.
She prays on her knees, confessing silently, as she mistook an affair for love.
The preacher nearby, secretly struggles with an addiction he keeps inside.
He certainly can’t tell others, because of his position, his influence, and his pride.
The reason for this poem should be clear to see, no one is perfect of whole.
We all struggle with life, with decisions we’ve made, and life always takes it’s toll.
Never look down on someon else’s struggles, yours are also ugly too.
Just because you don’t understand someone else, doesn’t put them below you.
We are all people, with all the same needs, to be loved, to be safe, and to be free.
Healing only comes, to repair and to restore, when we have these things that we need.
Do not judge, ony come up beside. Offer an ear, a hand, and a friend.
Maybe you’ll find, as you open your heart, that you’re not so different in the end.
©2024 Stephanie Blomquist
