Part of Me

Littered
pavements
Things cast aside
Wondering why

So careless
What else is it
We cast away

The asphalt holds silver sparkles
When the sun hits it just right
Newly painted lines as I make my way home
Homeless man standing on the corner
I can feel his story
He's a part of me
Woman walking across the street
Three children in tow
I can feel her story
She's part of me

I watch the sun
Slowly sink behind a freeway overpass
Thousands traveling oblivious
So focused on their destinations
That they miss the present
I feel their stories
Because they are part of me

I see the birds silhouetted against the sun
I feel them flying free
They too are part of me

The breeze blows
Frustrated drivers honk their horns
Caught up in some unthinking road rage drama
I feel their stories too
They're part of me

An open field
Wild flowers in bloom
Like a piece of time frozen
in a concrete jungle
I feel its story
It's a part of me

All of the emptiness
The things cast away
The forgotten things
The hidden things
I feel them all
They are part of me
And I am part of them

(c) photo/poem Jaie Hart, August 2011