gum spotted sidewalk

This is a really effective use of ambiguity. We start with a sentimentally more-or-less neutral image

there's a man sitting on the gum spotted sidewalk

The phrasing "there's" introduces this casual distance: none of the objects (the man, the gum, the sidewalk) are the grammatical subjects they are just things that happen to exist in relation to one another. We then get two dependent descriptions

chewed up and spit out, spit on and stepped on.

These could reasonably apply to any of the three objects. If we ignored the contents of these clauses and just their grammatical function we would be inclined to ascribe them to the man, but their contents, prima facie, suit them to the other two. As "chewed up and spit out" is exactly what happened to the gum and "spit on and stepped on" is exactly what happened to the sidewalk. However, we cannot erase the fact that these descriptions could be applied to the man (it would make sense both conceptually and grammatically) and because it is more interesting to do so we almost want to do so. Perversely, we almost want this man to be chewed up, spit out, to be spit on and stepped on.

The third line, wisely broken off as its own stanza, validates this desire. Just as we are tempted to view this man as someone who has suffered, who has been treated as unimportant, the poem treats him more or less as such. "it doesn't matter what his sign says."--he is just as put upon as we were inclined to say: presumably the sign is a sign of a homeless person but whatever he needs or needs to say is a matter of general indifference.

I think this is a vivid portrayal of the way most of us generally treat homeless persons as objects, mere parts of the landscape. Really solid work.

It's almost as if his spit, is the uniqueness of the situation. As the sidewalk is covered in gum, so as he steps, his past sticks to him. His past sticks to him so much after it's already been chewed out. The further reminder of his past is when he is stepped on with the harsh reminder that things are still this way. His sign points towards the future, which is non existent because his past defines him. Therefore, the sign points nowhere.

Nice mental image. A sad balance. Last line feels hopeless. Thanks for sharing.

The poem captures the feeling of hopelessness very well. The man has no future, no chance of redemption. Short and direct to the point, love it.

wow, i love it when poems really could have more than one meaning and I think this one nails it right on the head with it's vagueness and use of imagery.

This poem really got me the second time I read it, it made me tear up a little thinking about all the homeless people I've seen and ignored in my life. Thank you, this opened my eyes.

I am envious at how you've managed to write such a short piece with such potent imagery, thank you for sharing.

Wow this sure does break my heart. Well done!

Your poem explains the sad reality of how people judge before they talk to someone. Because he is the embodiment of the chewed up gum on the floor, he does not simply matter. At least it seems like that to me, Love it.

This really works quite well, but I'm can't quite place my finger on why. Something about it speaks to a humanity so pressured by life that it ceases to even be acknowledged. And the idea that the homeless are given just as little thought as a sign of urban decay, while cynical, is simply so obviously true that we must face that reality. I love it for its simplicity and it's honesty, as well as its content. Maybe there is something hopeful in the idea that gum spotted sidewalks can easily be avoided, and maybe the issue of homelessness can be fixed as well?