Email: gloriapaintsat@yahoo.com
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Come, Vern … Let’s Go Home
By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee/@GeeGranny
Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee
Sitting in darkness … cold, cold darkness
I peeped out through the slit in the canvas tent
I sat in … bundled up in every rag I could find
Praying that no one would bother me
While I sat here vulnerable, at the mercy
At the mercy of the world … please don’t notice me
Rain fell heavily on the tent I lived in
I could see it in the night light I camped near
The only comfort in my life was that one light
To keep the darkness at bay
Keep fear, grief away … I needed the light
Somehow, the cold didn’t feel as cold
I heard someone cough nearby … I froze
Please Lord, keep them away
Don’t let them know I’m here alone
I was too bulked up in the rags
To fight back … I couldn’t bend my arms
It would be hard to stand up
I needed the rags to survive
They were a godsend … as long as I didn’t have to fight
To survive … I thought I’d found a safe place to live
Feet scuffed the frozen ground outside my tent
I couldn’t breathe … fear gripped me
Death lurked near … I was going to die tonight
I heard Death walk closer to my tent
I was all alone in this big, old world
No one knew me … knew I was here
Only Death would know who I was … where I was at
Not a living soul would know anything about me
I stayed to myself, never attracting attention
My whole world had gone away
I was just living until I died
I didn’t want to kill myself … though I wondered if I should
My hands began peeling off the rags
Never making a sound … they came off easily
As they were just wrapped around and around
My body rose up from the ground
I felt that old fighting spirit rise up in me
It had hidden … but, not anymore
I slipped quietly to the opening to peer outside
Saw the dark figure standing not far away
It turned … I knew it was looking at me
I was afraid … but, I was meeting Death head-on
I wasn’t going to just die without a fight
I opened the slit wider … stepped out
Death! I spoke in a soft, quiet voice
I’m afraid of you … you might take me tonight
Not without one helluva fight … I’m not going easily
You’ve taken every loved one I ever had … away
Now … you want to take me?
No! I thought I wanted to die … but, I’m not ready
Death stepped toward me … I wanted to hide
I held my ground … didn’t back down
I’m not ready to go … I know now, I have things to do
I knew at this very moment what I was going to do
It sure wasn’t going to be dying tonight
I had fallen flat on my face … sunk as low as low
I held myself straight, tall … powerful
While looking Death in the face
You be gone, Death! Go now … I have things to do!
Death looked me in the face … pointed its finger at me
I stiffened my body … stayed strong
I sensed Death felt respect for me
A mere poor, broken shell of a person
Yet … standing strong as I could be
I defied Death … afraid … yet, ready to fight
I felt as if Death wanted to hug me
The coldness went away … I felt warmth
Was it Hell burning … or was it from Death’s heart
The warmth made my cold body feel better
I could feel my feet, legs now
I could walk … walk out of my Hell I lived in
Death turned its back on me … walked into the night
I turned, looked at the tent I had existed in
It was time to break Hell wide open
There wasn’t anything in the tent that would go with me
In my bra … I had all I needed
It was time to walk out of Hell … do things I needed to do
My feet began walking away from my camp site
Up the small hill … I stepped onto the sidewalk
Back onto the face of the earth … I was alive!
I looked a sight …. unkempt, maybe dirty
As I could only bathe when the weather was warm
I probably smelled bad … I wouldn’t get near any living soul
I walked five miles … I came to a house on Elm Street
It was my house … it was furnished, utilities still on
I had paid for them each month … using pay phones
I reached inside my bra for a small, purple and green purse
I unzipped it … took a key out … walked up onto the porch
Put the key inside the door … opened it, went inside
Locking the door behind me … I took a deep breath
Walked to the thermostat … turned the heat higher
Went to the bathroom …. ran a hot tub of water
Pulled the rags off … stuffed them into the waste basket
I wouldn’t be needing them anymore
I was back home now … I had some living to do
I turned the covers down on my bed
Slipped under them … pulled me around me
I was cozy, warm … I closed my eyes, slept
Got up the next day … I began to live
I was a rich woman … but, I hadn’t lived like one
I had gone to live with the homeless people I loved
I knew now, I would begin making dreams come true
Not for myself … for others who needed them desperately
I would begin with the homeless people I cared about
I would take money I was going to leave behind
While living until I died in the homeless world
Use it for good … instead of leaving it for others to enjoy
I knew the first person I would help
I drove near where I knew he was … a poor, broken soul
He was sitting on a bench … holding his chest
His name was Vern … an old, crippled man
He’d been homeless for many years
Because he was an alcoholic … he couldn’t live with anyone
His body trembled as he sat coughing, wheezing
Vern had emphysema, he was a sick man
I wanted him off the streets
I got out of my car, walked over to where Vern sat
He looked up at … looked closer, smiled
He recognized me, called my name
Yes, it’s me, Vern … I came here to take you away
To a nice place for you to live in peace, safety until you die
It’s a small travel trailer … cozy, warm
It’s in my back yard so, I can look after you
If you drink, it’s okay … you will be in your own home
No strings attached … no one will hurt you, I’ll watch over you
Vern looked up at me with his red-rimmed eyes
Tears flowed down his face
Sobs shook his shoulders as he cried
Come, Vern … let’s go home
He stood up, let me help him walk
To the car, get inside … buckle up
I took Vern home to live out his life
He had good food, shelter … safety
Vern lived out his life … he lived there for 2 years
In the meantime, I helped many homeless people
Go to a home where they could live safely
No one to bother them … they lived out their lives
I became happier each time I helped someone
I had a purpose in life … saving the world
I couldn’t save the whole world
But, I could save one person, one by one
Who knows how many I could save until the day I died
Yes, I had a lot of living … a lot of giving to do before I died
Note by this Author:
I was thinking about living in the homeless world … how one could just give up … go there. No one would care … notice you are gone.
Why would I think such thoughts? Because it’s my nature to imagine, think about everything. Because … in today’s time a person could end up homeless if they have become OLD … have no money. Unless … angels watched over them, protected them from such.
Vern is a real homeless man whom I met earlier this month. I had compassion for him. He was sick with emphysema, and he said he had a drinking problem … no one wanted him.
I had such compassion … and wished so much to have extra money to give to him to make his life somehow better. I didn’t even have change on me. He never asked for anything … I just wanted to give.
I have a special feeling for homeless people. I always have, always will. When I wrote this poem … I was imagining if I didn’t have my world … my Husband, Pups …. would I give up, just live until I die?
As I wrote … I could feel myself resigned to die until Death brought out my fighting spirit … I felt myself rise up … realize I had a purpose in life.
I don’t know my purpose in my life … I’d like to think I’m not a wasted soul. I hope somehow through writing I can touch others in a good way. I’m not perfect … I am a good person with a big Heart … loving, caring.
Photo/poem owned, written by Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee.
Colors of My Life 