Lost Keys

Like a cadaver he lay motionless on the cracked and broken sidewalk
Barely clinging to the fragile thread of life
His one true love long forgotten
His remaining dreams lost or stolen
Once a man who strode the earth tall and proud
Now a man with barely the strength to stand
Struggling through the nightmare that has become his daily existence
Begging for coins unable to lift his, “will work for food” sign
Finding only pennies and the hollow echo of empty cans
He searched for love
Found only hate and despair
In this cold city where no one has the time
For a broken old man
Who smelled like a litter box
Who crawled like a dog
With a bottle of ripple
Clutched in his shaking hands
And a wasted life
Hidden within his empty soul