Anybody Home? Poem by Alan balter

Anybody Home?


Jimmy lived in a box underneath a bridge
The previous occupant was a Maytag fridge
His schedule was empty but for constant dread
And conferences with strangers who lived in his head

Flashbacks of his buddies and their ghastly remains
Limbs ripped from their bodies and holes in their brains
Holding them close while their veins ran dry
And coming to learn how much grown men cry

He made it through the night and got up at dawn
Cursing the dark hours for lasting so long
He frequented the restroom at a fast food place
To wash the grit from his once handsome face

Jimmy took his breakfast ‘neath the overpass
Two ounces of rotgut from a plastic glass
Then, to the street to beg at the curbstone
With his unseen friends, he remained alone

He stopped working at dusk to count what he had
Twenty quarters and a few dimes wasn't all that bad
He spent his earnings at the corner liquor store
For a hundred proof dinner he needed more and more

Jimmy died yesterday in his cardboard hell
An overdose of antifreeze made his brain swell
Russell grabbed his coat, and Thomas took his socks
And a guy named Johnny moved into the box