American Nightmare

American nightmare, I sit in stains. My address is the alley behind the convenience store, in the cardboard box without a view. I am anonymous, and ignored, looked on as the worst sort of person; A freeloader, a bum, a blight, a blemish on the fair face of your society's illusion of perfection.

I am the one you warn you children away from on sight, you tell them I am the deviant who will come in the night. You point to me as an example of what not to be. But what you don't know is six months ago I lived six doors down, just up the street.

Look closely at my face and you can see the truth. We aren't that different, I once was just like you.

One bad turn, one wrong choice took me from my luxuries and took away my voice. Now I'm just another person on the street, another person you look at as dirt upon your feet.