J.D. Isip

It was embarrassing, sometimes being
the cliché – getting free food from churches,
always afraid of somebody seeing

me, or my mom, or my brother purchase
groceries with foodstamps, or eat our bread
when it was a little green on the edges –

Some days, bad days, we would not have a bed
or a hotel room to rent for the night –
of course, we would sleep in our car instead

unless mom thought the moon was really bright –
which was usually in the summer time –
then we would sleep underneath the moonlight!

I’m still a cliché – just a diff’rent kind
(It’s not embarrassing all the time).