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Jessica KristieJessica Kristie
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Poetry & Prose

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  • A Loss for Actions

A Loss for Actions

  • Categories Poetry & Prose
  • Date March 14, 2011

I am ashamed that your dirty hands,
make me flinch.
I know you didn’t start this way.

Foaming at the mouth.
Mumbled words.

Your twitches formed with emotional breaks,
and physical beatings.
Exiled from a place
that was never really home.

Cardboard –
now your bed,
on this wet and lonely street.
Bringing more comfort
than a mother’s hands ever did.

You were wronged.
Mistreated.
Failed – time and again.

My heart sinks every time I walk by,
and see your broken shoes,
calloused feet.

I feel burdened by my full stomach.
I feel ashamed inside of my clean clothes.
So ashamed…

That I just walk by.

Tag:a loss for actions, ashamed, Blog, burdened, confustion, empty, grief, help, homeless, hungry, hurt, illness, jessica kristie, jessicakristie, journal, lonely, mistreated, poetry, poverty, sadness, support, write

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Previous post

Growing Beyond Complacency
March 14, 2011

Next post

The Lies of Lightning
March 16, 2011

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    26 Comments

  1. brian
    March 15, 2011
    Reply

    mmm…yeah…i know this feeling i have a huge heart for the homeless…wish i could help more of them….nice textures

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Brian. It is hard to see and hard to know what to do sometimes.

  2. Rene Foran
    March 15, 2011
    Reply

    a powerful punch in the gut.
    is it fear that makes us turn away?

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Rene. I think it is fear and confusion. Never knowing that that person needs. Tough situation.

  3. bkmackenzie
    March 15, 2011
    Reply

    Well done, that feeling of shame for being better off than other…hard to understand all the in and outs of our humanity….thank you…bkm

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you bkm 🙂

  4. dustus
    March 15, 2011
    Reply

    Staggering sense of guilt. You capture both an honesty and tension in this piece. Great writing.

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Dustus. 🙂

  5. Joe Hesch
    March 15, 2011
    Reply

    Poignant and revealing, Jess. And so true that, by so closely looking at others and what they have done with life (and life with them), we develop a greater understanding of ourselves. Unfortunately, sometimes that’s not a pretty picture. But it’s the truth as much as what you have rendered here. Thank you.

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thanks Joe. Homeless is a sad reality everywhere. More visually prevalent in big cities. Tough to see and really tough to know what is the right thing to do.

  6. lori
    March 15, 2011
    Reply

    You are painfully honest in your writing.
    “I feel burdened by my full stomach.
    I feel ashamed inside of my clean clothes.
    So ashamed…
    That I just walk by.”
    Powerful words here.

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Lori! 🙂

  7. libithina
    March 15, 2011
    Reply

    yes caught between the tensions of the plight / and powerlessness to help ~ seems kind of apt hey Jess right now ~ Lib ~ @libithina

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you for reading sweetie. 😀

  8. Frelle
    March 15, 2011
    Reply

    Thank you for writing what you see, and making me feel the same burden with your vividness.

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Frelle. It is a heavy burden and I wish there was an easy answer. xoxox

  9. Christine
    March 16, 2011
    Reply

    Heart strings are pulled in many directions. Sincere thoughts.

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Christine. 🙂

  10. Shashi
    March 16, 2011
    Reply

    Dear Jessica
    I could feel the pain and empathy in your words and its the case with all sensitive souls… like yours. Some times, its very hard to pass by such a sight. Our heart reaches out to touch and we do but we are not always able to…
    ? ????? ?
    Om Shanti Om
    May peace be… pray for People of Japan
    ________
    http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/03/whispers-love-and-insignificance.html
    Connect me at Twitter @VerseEveryDay

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Aw, so true. It is frustrating to not know what the right thing to do is or what anyone can do really. Thank you for reading. 🙂

  11. Joanne Sprott
    March 16, 2011
    Reply

    Yep, feeling the other’s pain, but knowing we can’t fix everything for everyone. So, we walk on by. Very well written.

    • Jessica
      March 16, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Joanne. 🙂

  12. Kavita
    March 16, 2011
    Reply

    I got goosebumps reading this, Jess.. cu that’s how I feel when I see and walk past some of the homeless I come across.. especially kids!! 🙁
    This poem shows you how compassionate you are, my dear.. Cuz even feeling is something..
    Very beautifully written, my dear.. very kind..

    • Jessica
      March 17, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Kavita. I know so many of us feel that same burden. I appreciate your kind words. xoxoxo

  13. Belinda
    March 16, 2011
    Reply

    Wow. I appreciate the honesty, intense guilt and compassion wrapped in every stanza. This is an issue I grapple with living in a town with a high rate of homelessness. I haven’t gotten used to it. I want to help. But there are so many ofthem and only one of me. I can relate to how the writer feels.

    • Jessica
      March 17, 2011
      Reply

      Thank you Belinda. I think it is something we will every get used to or even should for that matter. If we do then we lose our compassion. xoxoox

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