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Monday, September 26, 2011

HARD TIMES

by Richard Schnap

The stars shine like rhinestones
On a black satin smock
Purchased at Walmart
With a pocket of change
By a dreamy-eyed woman
Who’s been unemployed
So long she’s forgotten
When dreams came for free

But now with her food stamps
And Section 8 home
She wonders if somewhere
The magic’s not gone
Where stars are still diamonds
And satin still silk
Where having a dream
Doesn’t mean going broke



Richard Schnap is a poet, songwriter and collagist living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His poems have most recently appeared in the Pittsburgh City Paper, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Calliope and forthcoming in Curbside Splendor and Red River Review.
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