(2014)
Jack Burkheimer (pictured right) has become a poetic spokesperson for the homeless community in Columbia, South Carolina. His poem, “Figment,” eloquently portrays his experience living on the street, and routinely being ignored by passers by, as if he were not even there. The recurring phrase, “figment of my imagination” describes the haunting feeling of disappearing from sight. Jack has read his poem at several venues in Columbia, and the poem was featured in an article “Human Side of Homelessness in the Midlands Emerges Through Poetry,” The State newspaper (November 19, 2014). A Navy veteran and retired welder and metal-worker, Mr. Burkheimer now has his own apartment.
Meira Warshauer first heard Burkheimer read his poem in a performance sponsored by Homeless Helping Homeless in fall 2013. She obtained his permission to set it to music for a concert benefitting the homeless as part of the Light the Way series in spring, 2014.
In 2016, University of South Carolina Senior Honors student Samantha Crandall premiered a version for soprano. Hear her performance with Aubrey Nelson, flute; Jonathan Pizarro, cello; and Solomon Eichner, piano, in the sound clip above.
Figment of my Imagination by Jack W. Burkheimer, Jr.
Oh, look at all the people going to work.
They pass by me, but don’t see me, as if
I am a figment of my Imagination.
They see my backpack, my worn shoes
As I fade into the bricks.
I must be a figment of my Imagination.
They go out of their way to avoid me.
I say to them, “Good day”.
They do not hear.
I must be a figment of my Imagination.
No eyes meet mine. How can they?
I’m fading into the bricks.
No living person can feel this hollow; it’s proof
I am a figment of my imagination.
They talk bitter of us, as if I’m not there.
Of course I’m not.
The fading is almost complete.
Just when I think there is nothing left to see,
Kind eyes find mine. They pull me back.
A handshake – a caring hand on my shoulder.
They look and talk to me.
If only they knew, that kind person—
I want them to know, that in that moment,
I know that
I am not a figment of my Imagination.
© Jack W. Burkheimer, Jr. 2013