Homeless – Helga Gruendler-Schierloh

Homeless - Helga Gruendler-Schierloh

A rickety park bench
out in nowhere,
his humble home
for far too long.

A torn scrap of paper
stuck to his hand
his souvenir,
from a stale meal.

A scraggly faded scar
made by a nail,
his lasting mark
of being poor.

A chirping melody
up in a tree,
his warm hello
from a rare friend.

A promising night-sky
without a cloud,
his rare event
to celebrate.

A grimy green bottle
next to his feet,
his only way
to dull his fate.

A brand-new day,
another chance,
his challenge
to survive once more

Helga Gruendler-Schierloh is a bilingual writer with a degree in journalism and graduate credits in linguistics. After spending time as a language instructor and working as a translator specializing in transcribing and translating Old Script (Suetterlin) documents, Helga revived her life-long passion for literary endeavors. Her articles, essays, short stories, and poetry have appeared in the USA, the UK, Canada, and South Africa. Her debut novel, Burying Leo, a MeToo story released in 2017, won second place in women’s fiction during Pen Craft Awards’ 2018 writing contest. Besides being a dedicated animal lover, Helga also loves to read, listen to music, and entertain her offspring with crafts projects and spur-of-the-moment homespun tales.