Life On The Streets Poem by Ray Hansell

She works the night shift
Walking on the stroll
Hour after hour
Each minute taking it's toll

Waiting for a man
Who's feeling lonely and blue
Probably just a man
It could even be you

Trying make her money
Just to make ends meet
Wearing a weary smile
As she walks up and down the street

The time is getting closer
For her high to wear off
She nervously plays
With her necklace that holds a cross

Though she gave up religion
In her younger years
Sometimes she calls to God
Asking, what am I doing here?

Though weary of her customers
The one's people call johns
She knows at any time
Anyone could do her harm

But night after night
There she will be
Walking the streets
From the life she can't flee

Long ago her dreams all faded
From grey to mid-night black
Knowing all too well
She'll never get them back

Life for her has been
Both dreadful and so sad
Living an existence
That she knows is bad

It all started by trying
A crack pipe one night
So many years later
It still clutches her so tight

The feeling that she gets
Every time she takes a hit
Only makes her believe some more
That she'll never quit

Because the pipe has a hold on her
It grips her very tight
There are no tears left for her
To even cry at night

With each new sun rise
Again she must face
Another day of hooking
with demons to chase

The pain left her long ago
All she feels now is just numb
She realized long ago
Just what she would become

Sometimes at night with eyes closed
She dreams of her death
There are nights she even prays
That she'll take her last breath

It's a recurring dream
That seems so real
But for her it's hard to tell
It's been so long since she could feel

She's dreams of a life in heaven
Peaceful and pain free
Is that the price one must pay?
To go where they'ed like to be

But she knows come tomorrow
She'll be back on the streets
Knowing her success is measured
By the number of men she'll treat


5-29-18