hometown

a small town in the u.s.a.

once bustling, growing, producing,

lots of jobs offering good pay.

one by one, the factories moved away.

poverty, it seems, is here to stay.

drugs and the peddlers come out at night.

they hang out on street corners, in plain sight.

with no other way

the rent to pay,

sell drugs at night

and hide throughout the day.

a lone gun shot rang out.

everyone scattered.

his body was left behind

like he never even mattered.

a mother’s son, another casualty,

another victim of crime.

only one hit today,

but how many the next time?