The Tragic Ones- Christmas Day 2008

I see the profound sadness
Reflected in the eyes
On a daily basis
The nervous woman paces impatiently
And I wonder
Is she meeting someone or running away
The shopworn women with too many children in tow
Whose lives have spun out of control
Who live day to day with no future
Who will never be seen
By the wall st. types
Who line their pockets
With derivative profits
While the eggshell homes
The train passes
Crumble at their foundations
Till life is one intense blur of insecurity

The well educated titans of finance
Have learned well to feel no guilt
Their cousins, the cockroaches
Scatter at the first sign of light
But the Ivy League and evolution
Have taught this new breed to stand tall
Or sit up straight
Stare at the cameras
And blame those who weren’t watching
In the first place

Is it any wonder that the passengers
Sit staring with a tunnel vision
Any self respecting earthworm would be proud of
Even on Christmas day
They are insulated
In their infected cocoons
Where no change occurs
Except for slow decay

And I sit here and observe
Like time itself
Slowly passing into oblivion
A part of the sadness
I once flew above
Depending on others for a happiness
I know will never come
Till the day I embrace my loved ones
I fear that day as much as I crave it
As each day passes it grows
Both closer and further away
Because time forgives no one with a conscience
Any mistake
If tragedy is the stuff of life
Then I have had a rich experience
My spirit now resides in the collective consciousness
Of those whose eyes I feel for
But despise my pity.