Don’t look at the dying;
you’ll only encourage them.
The homeless, the hungry, the hurting,
they’re not really there
and it’s not polite to stare.
You’re driving your wallet
on the rush hour freeway
so don’t stop for empty pockets
or slow down to look at accidents
or the bogeyman’ll get you.
Pretty soon the cops’ll clear them
all away
anyway,
and your eyes will be safe.
And when you’re dying
(oh yes you will)
no one will look.
Julia Vinograd was Berkeley’s informal “poet laureate.” Her poems about Telegraph Avenue and life in Berkeley in the late 60’s and beyond were beloved by many. She died in December, 2018.