ghetto child
born on the wrong side of the tracks
abandoned at birth by a pimp father
prostitute mother
grew up anti social in child custody services
succession of foster homes
physically beaten
sexually abused
charged with break and entry at the age of 15
sentenced to 3 months in juvenile jail
then on and off for the next 16 years
escalading offences
ranging from credit card fraud
possession of narcotics with intent to traffic
carrying a concealed weapon
aggravated assault
drifting further and further from the straight life
incarcerated repeatedly
revolving institutional door of the damned
hard core hustler
magnet for hard luck
trouble
gambling on long shots
chasing easy money
fast women
up and down mean streets
in crime infested neighbourhoods
overrun with seedy bars
porno stores
strip joints
pawnshops
sidewalks swarming with junkies
drunks
hookers
drug dealers
homeless beggars
to-day
age 31
gunned down in a drive by shooting
gangland bullet ravaged body
blood soaked pavement
67th homicide of the year
star crossed lost soul
back page story
What did you think
Comments
1 - 15 of 15
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a good title you selected for this poem, speaking to the lost and so often out of mind and on the back page. this is a very engaging piece. well done.
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That's what I'm talking about....
what equality exist here except equal suffering, brought on by the circumstances they had to grow up in, and the happenstances that followed. great write Zenny.
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Riveting
God, if we could all express the truth like this. Back page story. I remember a story when they found a woman who had been raped and murdered. Before she died the man that found her abandoned in a field saw her naked with one lone tear running down her cheek, he reached down towards her to help her but she looked at him and died
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'back page story'
great ending for the piece here
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wow, the end, that really got me.
people think deaths are so meaningless but never really know the whole story.
lives are underappreciated.
this was intense.
xxblackrabbit.
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WOW!
Lots would say he got what he deserved, but he did not ask to be born under a bad star from parents who could have cared less about him. Gut punching read...love your short chopped lines makes it easy to read and follow.
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worthwhile
it's always everything the front page doesn't tell us that actually equals news; and everything we choose to ignore that stays the same... great write; tough read for a soft heart, hard reality for more than a few. -
This is the kind of story that if you pick up anywhere in the middle, it becomes difficult to find as much compassion. I like the way brought us with him from the beginning so that, with compassion in tact, we can feel the impact of the final line. "ghetto child" just kind of sticks with you through to the end.
another intense work. nicely done.
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You got me here ...
in a tight ball of tummy cramp.
We tend to see but not see, often. And even when we THINK we see, we cannot feel all there is to feel.
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Superb
Wow, quite a dark write, indeed. However, very well written with excellent imagery. Thanks for sharing this one with us. Again, well done.
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Sharp hard hitting and straight forward. I like that. It reads like an after thought in the daily paper. The title fits your words perfectly.
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oh, man ...
"magnet for hard luck" puts just the right spin on this, I think ... look forward to hearing you read this
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what a depressing story...well written though I think..I especially think the last few stanzas are very well worded..nicely done
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I like the cool way you write, stiletto-sharp, unemotional. A touch of Hemingway here and there.
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interesting response because i wanted it to read somewhat like a back page story in a newspaper [hence the title]....
Hemingway started off as a newspaper writer as you probably know
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