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Hard Times / A Death in The Family
Until there's nothing left
But a store ravaged by theft
And a man left in debt
Becomes the cliché homeless vet
Trying to concour the impossible
Control himself
Swim up river but got caught in a net
Right now death is not his biggest threat
It's his children, his wife
He risks it all in a bet
Loses his marbles and yet
He's still going strong
He needs to move on
Needs to finish this song
Go home and give that kiss
That's been overdo long
The streets are wet
He wipes the windows to see
And still it's all a blur
He's floating in space
Seatbelt got him strapped
Trapped in his place
He lands upside down
On the wrong side of town
Once ontop of the world
Now the most unlucky guy around
Can't turn his frown upside down
But this was his chance
The night he was going to make it right
Face the impossible
Fight with all his might
He's got the money
He won the game
All going well
Now not a penny to his name
His wife never knew
He didn't tell her
Fought in the war
Til it was over
Ran a store
This is where the children come in
The story of husband and wife begins
The day they met
He told her he couldn't love
And yet
She wouldn't listen
I bet
She's in there crying herself to sleep
If you've never seen a woman weep
Your feelings must come pretty cheap
But she, but her
He was her world
Never had a problem
Just had two little girls
The money was tight
But it was all that he could do
He worked the store in the day
At night she danced for you
Now he's dead
Mommy works so hard
But still needs to pay rent
We give her our dolls
Our toys and our balls
Soccer
Baseball
Basketballs
Nets
She sells them for cash
We need more to be set
She sends us out to ask strangers
To beg and not give up yet
We try really hard
Maybe too hard we try
We check the fountains for some nickels
But the fountains were dry
We sit together on the park bench
We cry
Day turns to night
And we're afraid
A man comes up from behind
And asks if we're lost
But we don't know what to say
We know where we are
We know which way's home
But what can we say?
We're just two little girls who look lost in the park
All alone in the dark
All alone
And this man
Just seems so nice
Just the average old Joe
He offers us a drive
And without thinking twice
I say OK
But my sisters eyes, they say no
I tug on my sisters sleeve to come
But she won't budge
I look her in the face
she shakes her head
With her eyes she says no
But when I turn away
She says she will go
We know where daddy is now
We're spirits like him
I should have listened to my sister
Last thing I remember is getting in
His car was blue and old
The seats were black and cold
When I was little I was told
To not talk to strangers
To keep to myself
To behave
But what happens when a
Stranger makes you feel safe
Says he'll take you home
He knows the way
Mommy sent him to pick us up
I should have known it was a mistake
Looking down from the sky
Now we have daddy at our side
He cries
Doesn't ask why
Just takes us in
In a hug
Can you believe this guy?
Left us to die
That one night on the drive
Home after winning a game
Ended up on his roof
Upside down in a cage
I feel welling up rage
Looking down on mommy
I see the pain
In her eyes
As the cops tell her the news
When they leave she falls to her knees
She cries
Ties a rope into noose
Hangs it off the balcony of the apartment we all shared
If someone had seen
If someone had cared
Would we be where we are
Would we have ended up here
Three on one side with the fourth one getting near
Life can be cruel
Life can be unfair
Life can be unkind
But if you ain't got a problem
Why worry yourself about mine?
Go ahead
Live your life
But when you get faced with a river
Don't expect me to help you swim up or across it
I may be the one holding the net
Trying to stop you
So you better give'er
What goes around comes around
When a car roof smashes the ground
Two kids turn up dead on the wrong side of town
A mother hangs herself when there's no one else left around
Help someone out
Because kindness is never forgotten
Ignorance may tear a family apart
In the end
It isn't about your peace of mind
It's the peace you have at heart
Now watch it restart
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This article has 2 comments.
This poem tells a story- a tragedy- of a family torn apart after one of it's own passes away. This is probably the longest poem I have in my stock. And one of the saddest. What I like about it is how the focus goes from one family member to the next. I crave feedback, and would love to hear what you think!