"WHAT I SAW TODAY AT THE SOCIAL SECURITY
OFFICE"
by Judy Joy Jones


today at
the social security
office down the street
i did see
a man shaking so badly
he couldn’t stand
telling everyone
he just got out of jail
and needed a hand

he had no teeth
and looking in his eyes
i could see he was in a place
few on earth see

and the young woman
weighing over 300 pounds
talking on her phone
bout her daddy
who beat her so badly
they came and took her away
when she was only three

and now she lived
in shelters
or on the streets
with her baby in hand
begging for a place
they could call home

the couple from
a foreign land
who spoke not
a word of english
and pretended
not to hear
instead looking
into space
refusing to accept
they too were
part of this place

a man and wife
nodding off
from their
latest heroin shots
he holding her upright
so the security guard
wouldnt make them leave
while they drifted
in and out
of their opium dreams
waiting to get
on welfare relief

and the elderly man
who was alone
but seemed to know
from his peaceful face
this was not his true home
and we were
all pilgrims
just passing thru
this temporary place

and the woman
yelling at the guards
she wanted to see
a clerk now
and would fight
anyone who got in her way
why in god’s name
she cried
did they put her last

the guard looked happy
getting ready
to bully anyone
who stepped outta line

but noone in this place
had the strength
to even fight
and all that was left
were broken dreams of what
they could have been
if only

guards job
was finished each day
before work began
not one person
struggled with him
past a few nasty words

sighing he would go
back to his post
still longing
for a good fight
but he knew
the people
had been beaten down
by life
and he would never
have the great fights
he dreamed of every night
when watching
cops and robbers on tv

and the tattooed woman
a snake on her face
with spiders and lizards
covering her arms and legs

i looked at everyone
soaking in their pain
and knew once again
they were me and I them

no one
was above or below another
we were all one
in the same dream

a super clear mirror
did i see today
at the society security office
down the street


c jj 2023


"WHAT I SAW TODAY AT THE SOCIAL SECURITY
OFFICE"
by Judy Joy Jones
Describes what I'm seeing now on the streets as well.


Poem First Published in Berkeley California Newspaper



   Redroom Authors Judy Joy Jones