listen
do you hear them?
the silent screams
in the night
do you see them
there at the edges
where you refuse to look
standing
shivering
frozen with misery
and shame
the lost and the lonely
as you hurry on to your day
a dollar buys you
a frozen rose
but thaws the most frozen heart

listen
why can’t you hear them?
why can’t you see?
there but for a twist of fate
lies the silence of humanity.

April
12/22/16