Loss and Longing

I've seen men and women on the streets
Who gave up long ago
Skin scraping on aching bones
With no hope to find a home
I speak not of the beggars
They still have hope to be shared
Like the man with the tin half full of coins
Asking for some change to be spared
He just wants to buy a drink
So he can stay sane
And a cigarette to ease the pain
Or the boy with the open guitar case
Full of dollar bills
Playing six strings seven days a week
He just needs a stage and some time to kill
What I speak of is the people you don't see
Sleeping on subways with no destination
They don't dream anymore
In a constant state of deterioration
No roof above and no place to stay
Slowly dying with each passing day
I've seen darkness at its darkest
Putrid corners of empty buildings
Stories left behind that no one would want to know
I've seen people become addicted
Things meant to be enjoyable
Become a weapon of torture
I've seen bloodless battles
Far more gut-wrenching than war
Where sex and drugs and desperation
Kill people from the inside out
No matter who they were before
You see it in their eyes first
Pure existence an endless curse
Nightmares while they're asleep
But reality is far far worse
I've heard screams that crackle spines
And cries that surge blood through veins
Whimpering so loud it's deafening
Wrists with scars that won't heal
Hearts blackened and souls sucked dry
So next time you open your mouth to sigh
Be thankful you don't have the devil at your side