Broken

By Judith Kroll

I saw a tear upon a face--
       a beautiful soul of gentle grace.
She sat on the bench, watching the duck.
       I could tell she had fallen down on her luck.

I sat beside her as calmly as I dared.
       She turned her head and just quietly stared.
Her lips curled up in a broken smile;
       she said she had been there for quite awhile.

I am homeless now because the government shut down.
       My world has been turned all upside down.
Come with me and be warm tonight, and
       together we can find options to make things right.

There is no right; there is no wrong.
       I'm going to have to be very strong.
I am not a quitter, and I still stand proud,
       and she continued on a little more loud.

America is broken and hurting right now,
       but we can fix it. You wanna know how?
By believing it is fixable and each person standing tall,
       and never ever forgetting to show peace and love to all.

©January 2019 Judith Kroll.