BLOCK PARTY (2/2/13)

Jack was a man with it all figured out

The job, the girl, the paid-for house

His friends often wished they could have his life

Or at the very least, his wife

Jack was all smiles as he played his part

Loose with his actions but tight with his heart

For the green-eyed monsters, they did not know

The tears he cried when the curtain closed

Jack longed for a life like his neighbor Lou

Still single and free from the scars of abuse

Always upbeat and a job at the bar

A month-to-month rental and a brand-new car

Yes, Lou had the secret, thought a beat-down Jack

As he prepared for his wife’s latest verbal attack

While across the street Lou choked back tears

And downed his nightly case of beers

Lou was tired of living life alone

A transient who wanted a place to call home

He had wrecked his last car in a DUI

“I wish I had Roy’s life,” he started to cry

Roy and his girlfriend lived together next door

Their infant was born just a few weeks before

What a life of perfection, Lou longingly sighed

As Roy’s girlfriend quietly tiptoed outside

The neighbors all said the kid looked just like Roy

Which was funny, he thought, since it wasn’t his boy

But if anyone knew, he would be filled with shame

So he simply said thank you and lived with the pain

The house down the street had a sign that read SOLD

It was supposedly bought by an old man named Joel

A widower whose children had been killed long ago

A cancer survivor who once had no home

The neighbors all gossiped and said “Oh, how sad!”

While Jack, Lou and Roy couldn’t help but feel glad

Finally, someone with a worse hand dealt

Surely he’d be as depressed as they felt

But a funny thing happened when Joel came outside

He was open and cheerful and filled with great pride

He talked of his life and the trials he faced

He talked of the strength which through them he gained

He turned to each neighbor with nothing to lose

And asked them to share their own stories, too

And ever so slowly, the men opened up

With tales of adultery, addiction, lost love

Jack, Lou and Roy sat silent in awe

Their illusions now shattered, much like their walls

But as they walked back to their houses that night

The neighborhood seemed just a little more bright