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Proper homelessness

By jfarrell

As I go about, I see two faces of homelessness;

My local area, Walworth Road…

Man with accordion; 20 metres on, old woman with scarf;

Another twenty metres man with accordion again;

That’s gotta be gangs, right?

Three o’clock in the morning;

Rain, sleet, minus three degrees;

Wrapped in cardboard boxes

In shop doorways;

They gotta be proper homeless, right?

I’ve been homeless a few times;

Slept in doorways, subways, park benches;

Sleeping bag my coat and blanket;

Can’t stay dry, can’t stay warm;

All I possess in one bag.

And I never want to be homeless again, that’s for sure;

If you are homeless, you won’t be reading this, but….

Please stay warm and survive! Things can get better;

Folks reading this… please spare a thought;

And old blanket and a warm cup of tea would be a lifesaver, too.