Scanning the downtown skyline
Oakland, California
The Tribune Tower stands tall
marking the blocks where business turns
Inside the city landscape
the clock marks off time of long ago
What’s below the elegant structure?
Do you see the dirty sidewalks
Illuminated by a full moon
Gutters filled with a river of refuse
escaping to the underground sewer
Sidewalks cracked with uneven payment
A small wind sends a chill
over the bundle huddled
in the entryway of an abandoned storefront
Nearby books are stacked inside safe
No use for the homeless man
making the streets his home
His silent eyes peer into nothingness
Another lonely sleepless night
Invisible
