the good old days

they say we're getting better
every day,
but i still see people
sleeping on the streets.

there's a guy who lives
in a tent
behind the liquor store
down the street
from my house.

there's a woman who lives
out of a shopping cart
less than a block away.

there's a homeless kid
that had his backpack stolen
when he went into
the gas station
the other day
to buy a bottle of water.
everything he owned
was in that pack.

there's a group of kids
in their early twenties
that stay by the
train station
that runs along the 10 fwy.
they hold signs at the Rancho exit,
asking for help.

there are many of them
that just can't handle
the day to day life
of paying bills,
paying taxes,
being stepped on
by the powers that be.
there are some who
served their country
only to be discarded
when they returned home.
but there are a few
that were put into
their current situation
because
the banks
took away their homes,
because
the government
decided to bail out the lenders
rather than the people,
because
the American ideal
is to strive for an invisible
wealth
that only exists in the imagination
of faithful spending.

so as they tell you that
the economy is getting
better,
remember where we were
just a year ago,
remember how bad it was,
remember how easy it
all fell apart,
and remember who they are
really
looking out for.