Shelved hopes

~ ~M

Silent shelved hopes
and bitter tears;
lifeless and disfigured
by mascara smears.

With gloom-wrapped shoulders,
she reaches out a hand,
but the majority pass by her,
and few can understand.

So she sits in stilled anguish,
waiting for a promising sign,
but the world is relentless
and only seeks to undermine.

She realizes she’s a burden,
another rift in society.
And so she sits and languishes
for all she’ll never be.

© 2021 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/homeless-beggar-woman-poverty-cry-3584319/

Writing prompt: A bottle of hope sat on the shelf

21 thoughts on “Shelved hopes”

  2. This is so touching Michelle and truly tugs at my heart strings. Life isn’t always fair and people feel so broken they don’t always reach out. Sending a hug to all of those that suffer today. Nice poem💖

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  5. Michelle, you captured this woman’s plight very well.. In the volunteer work I have done with homeless working families, primarily mothers and children, the degree of PTSD in the mother and children is significant. As for younger women and teen girls, they need to be guided to shelters designed for them and paired with a clinical licensed social worker. Being alone on the street is not a recipe for improvement chances. Keith

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    1. Thank you, Keith. I once started a place to help the homeless and it was the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. And now I look back and wonder where those people are. They became like family to me.

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  7. Just if the majority could read your so beautiful poem to remember kindness not violent ignorance,
    just if she herself could read your so sympathetic & compassionate poem, too;
    we could have another kind of world.

    Thank you to remind us with your elite pen.

    Much love, ❤

    – Please, correct my comment if I’ve made any mistakes. Thanks.

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