Poverty

it stared them in the face
As if daring them to be rid of it
it made a mockery of them every step of the way

One garment day in and out in the midst of flashy
Colors and spring like pastels

It haunted them in the dark
when power was out for lack of payment
it taunted them as if daring them to do something about it
and laughed in their faces when they sat motionless
Unable to speak or refute its presence
Unable to move or break from its crippling effect
breaking them in pieces night after night
when empty refrigerators stared them in the dark

It called out to them in the night when stomachs rumbled
and tiny tummies ached from hungry days and starved nights that had
Lost count and begun to feel "normal"

It made a mockery of them as a whole
And individually
from the man of the house
To the babe innocent and unfortunate

It stared them in the face day and night
As if daring them to be rid of it

And when finally it had conquered in the physical
it crept slowly like a disease into their minds
and captured their thinking and illuminating thought process
That perhaps one day one of them could stare back at it
And once and for all be rid of it

It stared at them in the face
Even in death it didn't relent
But glared coldly 
not giving a damn

Published in Black Fox Literary Magazine -www.blackfoxlitmag.com