A Sonnet for Rod (Revised)

A Sonnet for Rod (Revised)

A formless shape, no friends, no kin -
Now scarcely conscious where he lies
Along the bench - his death defies.
Below the seat, a bottle of gin.

No welfare, no hope, he begs to live,
A victim he? or did he choose?
How can Society so badly abuse
And those around, can he forgive?

So shunned, ignored, a pariah he,
Despised, unloved, condemned with scorn.
His mind and body shredded and torn,
He sighed and groaned “Oh God, why me?”

“What have I done?” – I heard him say;
He stirred and looked across the Square:
“Now weep for me.”  His simple prayer.
He stretched and sighed, and there he lay…….

Will he be raised anew by God	 
From the world that He once trod?


Rod is a real person (not his real name) who is homeless and in very poor state of health.  Little appears to have been done for him.  He spends a lot of time lying or sitting on the bench outside the ‘Push’ Inn on Beverley Saturday Market.  He is avoided and ignored by the majority of people who pass him by, intent only on their own private business.

The normal number of four-line verses for a Sonnet is three.  I must admit to not realising that this poem had an extra verse until after it was published to the Forum!  I am very grateful to Toby Hardwick for advice that has led to this revised version.