Home lessons on Portland benches

Home is where the heart can rest and help the mind unwind from stress

My home lessons on bench’s taught me life’s least concern is chasing waterfalls and the love of falls inside a chest

In PDX winters moist with heavy gusts that soaked my cloths, shoes and most my toes, I grew blisters after walking 4 block every other hour because I awoke shivering and shaking like
Parkinson’s disease

Unfortunately over a dozen died asleep becoming so numb that by the time they awakened it’s to late, their fate is sealed paralyzing every muscle except the eyes to see death slowly overcoming

Each lungs was frozen in mid collapse their final breath forever lasts, I wonder if the flashbacks of their struggles are searching for a safe,secure, and somewhat private concrete slab with heater vents that consistently keep warm air blowing

Police, firefighter, medical staff, riots, rats, illness, thieves, psychotic spaz’s, passing Chads and riot pigs conducting excessive sweeps with teargas and rubber bullet kisses that even new street kids became vigilant more quickly

It’s times like these all the odds felt stacked against me, then I realized most these folks could literally hold everything they own and in reality the least they’ll care to lose is laundry dragged in luggage bags or pushing trolleys down concrete streets

When you’re in the struggle huddled over one another, cardboard sign in hand, around steel barrel fires fueled with stolen pallets occasionally a car tire, spanging change or hustling bike parts to the same fool who’s growing habits got him a rep amongst drug addicts looking for an easy scam just remember some of us are glad to give a helping hand

I’ll admit I was a fool for quite a time experiencing large amounts of stress that multiplied my hunger but never once panhandled and rarely ever saw someone collect enough for a couple meals and candy bags

So most of them start coping by getting doped up to suppress their rumbling tummy’s, soon their drugged up mugs can’t be concealed as they sink deeper down this cheaper deal

Facing hunger games of stomach pains and aches every waking moment of every single day...
Reconsidered sleeping underneath the bridge and to save cash relapsed with the better bargain started banging crushed up crystal through the nose of needles to kill the hunger and my racing heart would chase the cold away

Crashing down after 3 days spun and running around, both my emotions and brain felt disconnected but I wouldn’t cry if I wasn’t high like a junky fiends a fix to keep from getting sick

When you’re in the struggle both your mind and morals fly out the window because it’s do or die for your survival, eventually you’ll see how the market deals with inconsistencies and the trauma will drive few to the outer city to live isolate...