The Scream on the Street Corner

She stands there on the street corner
Disheveled hair
Red miniskirt and boots
Yelling at the traffic

She stands there
Hard eyes, dying soul
And so much need—she’s already given up

She stands there
Waiting for her john
Waiting to survive
Waiting to be as vulnerable as steel but
as battered and betrayed as sex for $10 would leave her

She stands there knowing
She needs to walk away but
No longer has the will

She stands there
And lets them do what they will to her

All that is left alive is the scream
On the street corner