Sick Ones

Sickness a stigma.

A man is not sick because of his

alcohol,

he is sick because his wife is asleep in the arms of a stranger

we are so very wrong

This boy you see on the side of the road is not sick because of the cold,

he is sick because to watch his father make love to a bottle instead of love him is like gagging on his breath when he shouts

to think we are no cause because we are not blood

That woman you see is not sick because she cannot sustain herself without the pop of a pill,

she is sick because somewhere inside of her, her husband has broke a bone and it hurts to move;

but there are little ones to feed.

so very sick of us

I am not sick because I cannot stop being afraid of everything,

I am sick because of every house I've be thrown from has taught me,

all people are to be feared.

to think we are not the ones who are ill at all