Lost Pride Poem by Theresa Ann Moore

The struggle to stay afloat is challenged each day
People borrow money to pay bills with home equity
Filling the empty void with loans that temporarily delay
A dismal probability looms…there is no immunity

Good-hearted people in this town are succumbing
Their faces are subdued as dreams are abandoned
The future is uncertain as they dread what is coming
Thoughts about what they endure, makes me saddened

As I drive by and see possessions put to the curbside
I see 'For Sale, ' signs appearing profusely on our street
My neighbor of many years now has no place to reside
In today’s economy... he is one of many who face defeat

I have seen a young man grow proudly and mature
Working hard and succeeding when times were booming
Now he has lost his home and is incredibly poor
He is a victim of a terrible flood that is consuming

Once worry-free but now he has lost all… including his car
He rides a bicycle and depends on the generosity of friends
I saw his thinning frame peddling the other day… from afar
Years of standing tall have toppled as his prosperity ends

His repossessed house is up for sale at a reduced cost
I can not help but feel emptiness when I think of his labors
Ownership is lost…the last gaping bridge has been crossed
Today, his unattended lawn is being mowed by a new neighbor…

5/21/08