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A Few Paychecks Away
by Jennifer RaganTake a good long look
as you speed by in your smart cars
always in a hurry to your jobs or homes,
because you are just a few paychecks away,
from being me.
I had a job; a car and a home
but after the downsizing my job was lost.
The unemployment ran out and the foreclosure was inevitable.
I still have my dignity.
My fur coat was a gift from my mother,
it’s the only thing I haven’t pawned.
It reminds me of happier days
before I lost her too.
I scrape by but it’s exhausting,
never knowing when your next meal is
or if there will be room in the shelter.
I do what I need to survive. Would you?
I don’t want your pity
all I want is for you
to take a good long look,
because you are just a few paychecks away,
from being me.
05/15/2011 Author's Note: For the poetry contest
Posted on 05/15/2011
Copyright © 2025 Jennifer Ragan
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 05/15/11 at 07:43 PM This really describes that photo well, and in the context of today, is dead on. |
| Posted by Mo Couts on 06/23/11 at 02:30 AM Damn. In our modern society, this is so, so true, sadly so, but completely so. |
| Posted by Shannon McEwen on 11/12/11 at 05:56 PM I didn't see the contest but I like this poem on it's own, a great reminder that life has a habit of changing in a second. |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 11/27/12 at 02:52 PM Excellent writing...a poem for our times, all times, as this easily could have been written during the Great Depression of 1929-1930s. Could happen to any one of us also. |
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