In My Hour Of Trouble

When I find
Myself
In times of trouble
Mother Mary
Comes to me
Singing words
Of wisdom
Let it be
And in my hour
Of darkness
Mother Mary
Comes to me
Singing words
Of Wisdom
Let it be
©The Beatles

Today is trash day
In my neighborhood
And we residents
Are supposed
To put out
All of our trash
Until the next
Pick up day
Next week
And in my time
Of trouble
The trash collectors
Come to me
Taking away
Piles of garbage
Until I am
Once again
Garbage free
Garbage free
And in my
Hours of darkness
The men in white coats
Come for me
Injecting me with
Shots of Thorazine
So let it be
Let it be
And as I wander
Here and there
All the homeless
Come to me
Seeking words
Of wisdom
And looking
For a place
To pee
And looking
For a place
To pee
They come reeking
Of urine
Always wanting
Something from me
So I give them
My loose change
And money
To help them
Buy some tea
So I give them
My loose change
And money
To help them
Buy some tea
I bring
Some bags of
Bread crumbs
For the pigeons
Who are stalking me
Asking me
For bread crumbs
So they can
Continue to be
So they can
Continue to be
And the squirrels
In the park
Keep begging
For food
From me
Since I am
In their home
And their
Needs are
Equal to my own
Maybe if I’m
Lucky
I’ll grab
Something to eat
Maybe a hotdog
Or a pretzel
Before I have
To retreat
To go back
To work
To the job
To my desk
To sit for
Another
Four or five hours
In total defeat
Staring at the
Computer screen
Until I can
Go home again
Leaving behind
The homeless
The pigeons
Mother Mary
The Beatles
Paul McCartney
My dentist
My bank loans
My post office box
The statue
Of William Penn
Perched high above
City Hall
And I join the
Homeward bound
Rush hour commute
In the staggering heat
Of yet another
Summer
Heat wave
And by the time
I make it home
And unlock
My front door
I am exhausted
And dripping
With sweat
And I wonder
Against
The rolling thunder
Of yet another
approaching
Summer storm
How much longer
I can keep
This up
How much longer
I can endure


jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011