Gone with tears are the four hearts of four souls,
Weeping for the world pitiless, merciless, cheerless,
Overawing and expiring the tiny flames of four lives, and
Leaving their remains soaked with tears with no friend.
Hope? Forget about the vanity of ethereal remote longing,
Unavailable to them, unthinkable to them, for their suffering
Was theirs, theirs only, theirs alone, not ours, not yours, not mine,
Thinking “Thank God, it’s them, instead of me” with a glass of wine.
Where was Charity when the four souls- two parents, two babies-
Were forced to wander around in the vacant lot nights and days
Facing daily unkindness, hopelessness, rejections, humiliations
Gnawing every part of them till their spirits plunged to a low bottomless?
Woe is to the four souls aborting their Fates so hard, so harsh
In defiance against such Fates that even allowed no remote wish
For instant happiness and now wandering the Place of Grief where
They tell us their failed dreams and disappointments hard to bear.
P.S. : This poem was written in memory of the family of four found dead in the backseat of a van in the parking lot of a CVS store located in Garden Grove, California. It is said that the family seemed to live in the van for about six months or so. The family was composed of a father, a mother, a two-year old daughter, and a nine-month old son. Although the Police is investigating the cause of death, I can’t shake away my strong speculation that it must have been a case of suicide… Hence, this is how I feel about these souls who had no choice but ending their own – including the little ones of their own- . If the father or the mother could have gotten a job, or if anyone could provide them information on how to get public assistance, such as acquisition of housing and food stamp, they would have been with us… They should have not died… I wish they would rest in peace., especially those little ones as my heart is crying…
A Cat in the Mirror 