The struggle to stay afloat is challenged each day <br />People borrow money to pay bills with home equity <br />Filling the empty void with loans that temporarily delay <br />A dismal probability looms…there is no immunity <br /> <br />Good-hearted people in this town are succumbing <br />Their faces are subdued as dreams are abandoned <br />The future is uncertain as they dread what is coming <br />Thoughts about what they endure, makes me saddened <br /> <br />As I drive by and see possessions put to the curbside <br />I see 'For Sale, ' signs appearing profusely on our street <br />My neighbor of many years now has no place to reside <br />In today’s economy... he is one of many who face defeat <br /> <br />I have seen a young man grow proudly and mature <br />Working hard and succeeding when times were booming <br />Now he has lost his home and is incredibly poor <br />He is a victim of a terrible flood that is consuming <br /> <br />Once worry-free but now he has lost all… including his car <br />He rides a bicycle and depends on the generosity of friends <br />I saw his thinning frame peddling the other day… from afar <br />Years of standing tall have toppled as his prosperity ends <br /> <br />His repossessed house is up for sale at a reduced cost <br />I can not help but feel emptiness when I think of his labors <br />Ownership is lost…the last gaping bridge has been crossed <br />Today, his unattended lawn is being mowed by a new neighbor… <br /> <br />5/21/08<br /><br />Theresa Ann Moore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/lost-pride-3/
