Hope!

Who are these poeple?
Who've paid their mortgage
year after year, and are now
at the brink of losing it all,
who now use their life
saving to weather the storm,

Who are these people?
Who live in five floor walk ups
with no A/C and partial heat in
the freezing winter,

Who are these people?
Who pound the streets to make
ends meet, who stand in line
to get their Welfare meat,

Who are these people?
With happy faces and still don't
have enough to eat, standing
there with sucked in stomachs
saying to their children,
"It will be better next week",

Which no one sees or ask,
who are they, but willingly
criticize, "Why do we support
them, when we know there's
jobs out there that they can have,

Who have no health care, while
we make co-pays of fifteen dollars
or maybe less, but cry when we
have to pay one more dollar to 
the IRS,

Who are these people?
Who dream as we do of a better
life, who cry when they see their
childrens eyes, and pray to GOD
for just one chance,

a chance just like we had, with
parents who came here or were
here at a better time, when jobs
were plentiful and lots of programs
to give a hand up,

Who are these people?
Who go to work every day, to put a
meal no a paper plate, corn and
Spamham,  and realize that they
must eat this every night,

Who proudly say:
"I have a Job", but can hardly pay
their rent, and Public Service
threatens to shut off their gas and
their lights,

Who are these people?
Who go out and get wasted to
forget all they owe, or how they'll
get the money to buy their four
year old a brand new dress,

Who say: "next month I'll have all
my bills up to date", but their only
means of transportation goes
kerplunk, and they don't have the
funds to make it run,

Oh!!, This money pit without an
end, of bondage that holds us in
the permanent red, never seeing
the light of day?

Who are these people?
Of single parent families, who
barely hold on to their existence by
the skin of their teeth, to a meager
living which they call life,

Who've worked hard all their life's
to have a little something to retire
on, only to see it going down the
economic drain, and ask the
Government : "what have you done
for me today",

Who are these people?
Who stood in line from coast to
coast just to cast a vote, because
someone spoke and gave them
hope,

Who watched TV all night to track
the polls, praying for intervention
from some place high , that no one
sees, dreaming of a better life, by
casting one single vote,

Who are these people?
Standing there waiting for a boat
to take them to the land of prosperity
and lots of hope, only to see their
money going to other folk,

Those who had it, and squandred
it on things to help themselves, and
now hold up the perverbial finger to
those with little hope,

Who are they!
They are you, me, them, those,
everyone who holds on because of
a little spark of HOPE!!!