Richard Schnap- A Poem

BLACKEST OF BLUES

He winds his way down the crippled streets
As the crackle of gunshots punctures the air

From a store where nothing is worth what it costs
Where he learned that day he had been laid off

Now he is caught in a fresher web
Unsure how to pay his meager rent

Feeling once more that to be alive
Means learning to live with the fear of death

For the doctor had ordered an expensive test
To gauge the damage he carries within

From the uncle that raped him multiple times
Infusing his body with the threat of AIDS

But like so many whose chances are slim
He places his life in the hands of God

As he opens his Bible to the story of Job
To read once again why he shouldn’t give up