City Snapshot by Lorri Ventura
Reading Time: 2 minutes
My selection today is another by poetess Lorri Ventura. Lorri (you may remember from my introduction to "The Tin Dollshouse" featured earlier in my picks) is a retired special education administrator who lives in Massachusetts, USA. Her poetry has been featured in a number of anthologies and journals, and has won three Moon Prizes. Once again, Lorri has produced a poem that highlights societal failings that clearly concern her. Lorri's poem only strengthens my own concerns for man's apparent disregard for his fellow man. You can read more of Lorri's poetry here
A minefield of homeless people Strewn like pickup sticks Across the pavement On the brick and concrete sidewalks Of Central Square Shoppers zigzag around them With their eyes locked on their cell phones To avoid truly seeing Those less fortunate than they Cocooned in layers of raggedy cardigans A spavined woman sprawls along a bench Clutching the matted fur Of a pumpkin-colored cat Curled, Cheeto-like, Against her torso A bearded man Lost in billowing, cookie dough camouflage pants Lurches forward in a wheelchair That seems to be held together By bumper stickers He extends a coffee-stained paper cup Toward passersby Hoping for charity Chuckling, he points to the largest decal Its message: “So many pedestrians, so little time." A trio of laughing college students Engrossed in conversation Trample on a potholder-crocheted afghan That a young girl has spread out on the sidewalk To define the boundaries of her “home” She glares up Spitting profanities at the oblivious trespassers Her peers in age if not in fortune And brusquely swats at the footprints Left on her most precious possession Dickensian scenes in the 21st century Mock our claims of social enlightenment Expose our lack of humaneness And beg us all to wake up © Lorri Ventura 2023
Thoughtful and wonderful poem.
You can certainly see your writing skills in your work. All the time go after your heart.
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