The following piece was submitted to me by Ronald H. Bayes of St. Andrews College. I had asked some poets to submit poetry for a Neighbor House poetry event. Neighbor House is a non-profit 501 (3) c that serves the poor and homeless in Hillsborough and northern Orange County, NC. I, Bruce Whealton, am a Board Member for Neighbor House and the Web Designer/Developer for the organization. It is an honor to have a poem by Ron Bayes for this cause.

LEFT OUT

There was a little boy in our town where there was no
Public swimming pool
And those who got to swim in hot summer
Were kids of the affluent who had backyard
Private ones.

There was a little boy,
One hot summer night
Who crawled over the fence
At one of the local motels,
Dove into the pool and drowned.

That is part of being left out.
We all have had it in our hearts
Some—but not many–day after day.
The burden of guilt is on
Each one of us who doesn’t speak

For the Left Out Others.

By Ron Bayes