Poem by Patsy Asuncion

Drive-By

Cars insulate, 
cut fast     getaways 
from street people who provoke guilt
   with hunger that angers 
well-behaved routines.

The Voiceless crouch     clean forgot 
in fast-paced apathy, marooned 
with crude cardboard confessions,

dismissed by dog-eat-dog drivers
who insist     hungry is a hustle.

Unlike corner beggars,
homeless women and kids     run 
from street corner scrutiny     scramble 
for anonymous shelter 
     from hit-and-run humanity.

Outside White are welcome.
Dirt-colored rags and races
are deprived in ditches – 
   failed schools, prisons, slums, colored walls.

The tired, the poor, the huddled masses
yearning to breathe free,
the wretched refuse and homeless… 
     welcomed by the Statue of Liberty
no longer wanted.

Click on the file to listen to the poem:

drive-by__patsy_asuncion.m4a
File Size:	1581 kb
File Type:	m4a

Download File

---

Patsy Asuncion, Ed.S., published poet - Cut on the Bias 2016, second collection pending, twenty+ anthologies, including The Sixty-Four Best Poets of 2019, all reflecting her slant as a bi-racial, first-generation immigrant. Patsy promotes diversity via her open mic (21,000+ YouTube views),
community initiatives, regional/national presentations, print/online publications.

---