Atonement

Where the sun doesn't shine,
There is a shriveled up man that slowly dies.
Lonely in the world, starving for food,
Wandering the street, the streets known as home,
On the corner of sanity and desperation,
He begs for those pennies, his oasis.
Bystanders walking, giving him shallow eyes,
Self-esteem going down, hope of moving on, slowly drowns.
He always wished for the better, even during the war,
Fighting for a country, that left him alone.
Gone in battle while his family suffered,
Shot to death, there was no time for cover,
His life in flames, when he returned.
Buried his own 8 year old daughter 6 feet below in the blood stained dirt.
In his wife's hand, the ring he proposed.
Covered in dry skin, that created a lump in his throat.
Sitting in the rain on the building labeled 'Sad',
A young man came up sparing some change he had had.
So the withered man could dine and live another day.
Returning everyday with change in his hands,
More and more money he gave to the man.
Finding one day the man was gone,
He followed a petal trail to a dark graveyard.
There was the man with roses in hand,
With the money he had to the flower shop he went,
Placing them on the grave,
The man wept in pain and went back to the corner in which he stayed.
Walking to the grave I saw engraved,
"Under this lies my heart,
both halves lie in this sad ungrowing earth,
RIP my Love and Sharyl Grey,
to heaven you go and earth is where I'll stay"
Returning to the corner where he laid I spoke,
"Mr. Grey... I murdered your wife and child 12 years ago from today.
What a small twisted world this is, don't you say?"