Occupied and One Cup of Coffee

I am am severely occupied and
preoccupied with survival and dignity
Lost my bus pass last night, means of getting around this city
with an inch of independence
A wonky, cascading domino effect
Use food money to get to work, tired at work because you didn't eat
Gotta walk home now and save on that one bit of faire
None of it's fair, but we knew that going in
Praying at night that some of the struggle lets up-
not all of it (I'm not greedy) just some

Big hearts, strong souls and working hands
Wanting, needing to contribute
But how not to worry about the next day?
How not to worry about children yet to be?
How not to worry about looming loans in the distance?

I am preoccupied with humility
One hand, two hands, three hands offering to pull me up
Wipe the dust off my back and remind me of less rain ahead
They say,
I know what it's like to struggle
How much it means to buy that one cup of coffee
So I hitch a ride with the windows down, relishing time off my feet
and company in the next seat
How can I say now that I have not tasted the kindness of another?
Such words would make me a bitter liar

Spines of steel and hope swinging high
People marching in the streets
I'm sorry I'm not there, sign in hand
I am working to eat, eating to work,
and still praying right before I sleep

We are a preoccupied people
A majority of the not-poor-enough, but not-rich-enough middle
Maybe we occupy too much space,
have too many hopes for all those taxes we pay
Perhaps this movement is no different than the rest
but sometimes green must rise up to cancel the red
I fear more that we will stay sleeping,
than the revolution that must come
In the end, whether blue, red or green,
majority is the color of human flesh

I am preoccupied and sipping my coffee
My tummy is rumbling and I tell it to shush,
We have to walk home first
I remind myself that this is not as bad as it seems
(and superstitiously knock on wood)
Within a people, there are sympathetic souls
willing to shelter you, encourage you,
remind you what you're working for
I am a blessed human being, and so afraid
the kindness being bestowed upon me can never be repaid

Clever fingers, quick-witted tongues and finally having enough
Wake up, Sleeping Giant
No dream, but a nightmare
There are so many of us
Surely, together, we can make a change

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