The Worth of a Life

Worthless or More?-Shawnee
A man lost in a haze of addiction and depression
Found himself alone one night
Freezing from loneliness and despair.
Feeling the strangling grip of hopelessness
The man ended his life.
What was the value of that life?
The landlord made plans to have the room cleaned and rented;
He was out three months of back rent,
But he wouldn't lose any more.
The peddler who sold drugs to the man
Was out a customer,
But that was the nature of the business,
There would always be others.
The burger joint would have to find
Another night-time manager;
But that was only mildly inconvenient.
His few friends, more appropriately deemed associates than companions,
Spoke of sadness but shed no tears.
Not many others even noticed the passing of the man.
The world, it seemed, placed very little value
On the life of the man now gone.
At the funeral, where only those who really cared came,
The loss of the man was mourned
No less than the loss of a prince.
The heart-broken mother and father,
Who blamed themselves,
The siblings who regretted things they had and hadn't said,
All mourning for the loss of a life
That had as much value and potential
As any other life that ever was,
Now gone without ever realizing that potential.
A life disregarded by the world
A life treasured by a family
Gone without hope of a brighter earthly tomorrow.
What was the value of that life?
To the world it was nothing,
To the parents it was everything.
What is the value of a life?
It depends on who you ask.