Hope Deferred
Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.
If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
His slide into homelessness was gradual
Like the rip in the relationship
Between him and his wife,
Hardly noticeable at first
Until she served him with divorce papers
After twenty-five years of marriage.
He never learned to fold his clothes,
Never paid the bills,
Never once cooked a meal for them.
Now, he has no running water,
Has no bathroom,
Has no healthcare.
He lives under a freeway bridge,
His life a minefield of doom and gloom.
He has lost everything but his sanity,
Struggles to survive,
Fights off depression and despair,
Drinks cheap wine until his lips turn blue.
He is a public nuisance,
A drain on police resources,
Still hoping for a second chance.
Victor Henry has published poetry, prose poems, and a book entitled What They Wanted, poems about his experiences in Vietnam. He is a member of Veterans for Peace. And he is a retired research/reference librarian. His poetry and prose poems have appeared in small press magazines, anthologies, and e-zines, such as Slipstream; The Paterson Literary Review; Nobody Gets Off the Bus: The Viet Nam Generation Big Book; Vietnam War Poetry; The Homestead Review; Red River Review; Dead Snakes; Misfitmagazine; Winedrunk Sidewalk: Shipwrecked in Trumpland; Monterey Poetry Review; I am Not a Silent Poet; Your One Phone Call, In Between Hangovers, among others.
Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.
If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
His slide into homelessness was gradual
Like the rip in the relationship
Between him and his wife,
Hardly noticeable at first
Until she served him with divorce papers
After twenty-five years of marriage.
He never learned to fold his clothes,
Never paid the bills,
Never once cooked a meal for them.
Now, he has no running water,
Has no bathroom,
Has no healthcare.
He lives under a freeway bridge,
His life a minefield of doom and gloom.
He has lost everything but his sanity,
Struggles to survive,
Fights off depression and despair,
Drinks cheap wine until his lips turn blue.
He is a public nuisance,
A drain on police resources,
Still hoping for a second chance.
Victor Henry has published poetry, prose poems, and a book entitled What They Wanted, poems about his experiences in Vietnam. He is a member of Veterans for Peace. And he is a retired research/reference librarian. His poetry and prose poems have appeared in small press magazines, anthologies, and e-zines, such as Slipstream; The Paterson Literary Review; Nobody Gets Off the Bus: The Viet Nam Generation Big Book; Vietnam War Poetry; The Homestead Review; Red River Review; Dead Snakes; Misfitmagazine; Winedrunk Sidewalk: Shipwrecked in Trumpland; Monterey Poetry Review; I am Not a Silent Poet; Your One Phone Call, In Between Hangovers, among others.
