Phil Garber
2 min readMay 31, 2020

Just A Regular Guy

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street

I’m not that much different

from anyone that you’d meet.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

I know that I’m lucky

to have food on the plate

to be 70 and healthy

and to harbor no hate.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

Somebody asked me

to pick up the gun

I told him quite clearly

that i never owned even one.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

I’ve seen lots of suffering

and unnecessary pain

I’ve never had answers

I just watch it rain.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

This pandemic is wearing

me down every day

It’s not lettin up

In any serious way.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

And the cities are burning

and people are dying

The wheels have stopped turning

Everyone’s crying.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

You want answers

I don’t have any to give

I don’t even know the questions

about how I should live.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

It’s hard enough

to do my work every day

To treat my family

in the best possible way.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

I understand that my white skin

is why I can breathe

It’s why I have privilege

It’s why I won’t leave.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

I have money for things

that I don’t even need

while others have nothing

for their families to feed.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

I’ve seen through the years

how jealousy and hate

Can ransack the lives

of people ordered to wait.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

I’ll never know what it’s like

to be hated and scorned

because of my color

to be battered and torn.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

So I sit in my backyard

frozen in fear

and wonder aloud

how we all got here.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

Can someone tell me

what am I supposed to do

Do we just tear it all down

And start everything new.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

I am haunted by day

and all through the night

why wasn’t it me

who lost all the light.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

I can see how the storm

is gathering strength

it will soon devastate

everything in its path.

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

We’ve built the land

on the backs of people

with brown skin

We’ve nailed their doors closed

And not let them in.

No excuses can be made

So many debts to be paid

I’m just a regular guy

who lives down the street.

Phil Garber
Phil Garber

Written by Phil Garber

Journalist for 40 years and now a creative writer

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