Conversations: Angels And Demons (Part Two) Poem by Eric Cockrell

the trucker went on speaking:
'you know, it's even worse for
the old people.
they dont draw enough to live on,
cant pay for their medicines, the
rent, the lights, and still buy food.
and their kids are scattered, or so
close to the edge trying to raise their
families, to just survive, that they
cant help...'

'yea, i was behind an old man in the
grocery store line the other night...
just buying dog food, Alpo canned dog
food. the cashier asked him what kind
of dog he had... he just shook his head.
i knew what that was! '

the trucker replied: 'you know, my mom's
over across town in that rest home. i felt
bad about it for a while, but now i dont
know. she's better off than a lot of them!
still, my dad's probably rolling in his grave.'