THE BUS..STRANGE HOW THIS ONE HAPPENED!   I WORKED ON IT
FOR WEEKS...THOUGHT I WAS FINISHED UNTIL THE LORD SAID "NOT YET!"   
I'M THE FIRST ONE TO ADMIT THAT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO "LGLG!!"
(Let Go & Let God !!!)


The transit station terminal
Was in the center of the town
And crowded still at six pm
With rush hour winding down

Among people hurrying here and there
Juggling schedules, bags and books
The young boy stood unnoticed
Drawing not a thought or look

In his teens or early twenties
He was thin and hollow-eyed
His sullen face showed not a hint
Of desperation trapped inside

Dressed in faded, baggy jeans
Stringy hair fell in his eyes
His hands jammed in the pockets
Of a jacket too big for his size

Benjamin's story was a sad one
He was completely on his own
His mother'd died when he was four
He'd spent his life in foster homes

Bounced around the city
Always changing friends and schools
Had left him bitter; at loose ends
With no respect for laws or rules

When his 18th birthday rollled around
The law said he was grown...
With fifty dollars and a bus pass
They dumped him on the streets alone

It took suprisingly little time
For him to try both crime and drugs
His life took on a sad routine
Amid the homeless and the thugs   

He’d rob someone and use the cash
To feed his cruel addiction
It was a one-way track that only led
Down a road to sure extinction

He watched the buses come and go
While he slouched against one wall
And until he spotted the number 12
He never moved at all....

But as he watched the bus approach
He knew it was the one
A crosstown trip....plenty of time
For what needed to be done

Full of homeward bound commuters
Each carrying credit cards and cash
He'd pick one out and do his thing
Take for his own their stash...

No, this was not the first time
He'd used robbery as a tool
To fund his need for hardcore drugs
But last time he'd been a fool

Unprepared when the "mark" grew angry
Then turned tables on the thief
Ben was beaten up quite badly
Before he escaped and found relief

Still, it wasn't long before addiction
Forced him back onto the streets
But this time he was ready
He neared the bus with shuffling feet


GO TO PAGE 2
RETURN TO STORIES INDEX
RETURN TO SITEMAP
RETURN TO FRONT PORCH