The Forsaken City

The culture of deceit rises high 

High enough to touch the grimy sky 

Filled with the cries of the forsaken, the forgotten, the cursed 

Misery coats the city streets with greed and depression 

The people no longer care 

Numb to any positive light that might shine upon them 

Beautiful people 

Masked by the ugliness of the environment that preys upon their sanity 

Forsaken, defeated, trampled by the rising cost of living 

The lights struggle to stay lit 

The water comes out in chunks 

The leaders of the city are but figureheads with a status 

They don’t know the struggle of the people 

Or they do but do they really care 

As long as they can sit fat at the table of success 

No one else in the city matters a bit 

So the crime rises and takes hold 

The drugs become bold and strangle the life out of the youth 

Good friends turn to enemies 

And the people forget their own kind 

They just exist, not truly living 

Working but not succeeding 

Liking but not loving 

Tony L. Jefferson, Jr. 2009