Death in the City
Nearly 600 people have died this year
On the streets of San Francisco
Pandemic, fentanyl and other drug overdoses
Simple neglect, mental illness, abandonment
Even tragically been set on fire while sleeping
On the streets of San Francisco
A nightmare
A little Hell
Community without stability
Without real shelter and care
Hotel rooms cannot feed and care for many
Who need hospitals
Who need medical assistance
And so they die
On the streets of San Francisco
As they die in Portland, Oregon
In Oakland, across California
Across our nation
Homeless, unsheltered, abandoned
Die
As we pray now that a baby
Born they say in Bethlehem
Might warm our hearts
To care for those
Who have no warmth
By Karen Melander-Magoon
Unknown man
No one knew him.
He scoured the streets
daily in search of money
to buy food.
He spoke to everyone
with a plaintive cry.
“Please help me”
he repeated thousands
of times a day
until his voice was hoarse
and he sounded lost
to himself.
I saw him often for at least
fifteen years,
probably longer.
Today I learned
he died on the street,
ran over by someone
who simply didn’t care.
Very few did.
We all owe the unknown man
an apology,
and now we can’t give it to him.
By Eric Allen Yankee
