Homelessness In Winter
back about 30 years ago,
living on the streets in Charlotte...
finally found a job... was lucky enough
to have a place to take a shower...
sleeping in the backseat of a broke
down Ford Maverick... cold winter...
got up and walked 4 miles to work
every morning,4 miles 'home' in the
evening...
went on for a couple months before
i got a place to live...
so yes i know what homelessness
feels like...and i cant help thinking
about all the empty foreclosed houses....
empty houses, homeless people....
back then, even if you couldnt find a
real job, they had a place where you
could go and line up to do day work...
worked all day for about 25 dollars...
if you couldnt do that, you could always
sell blood.... i dont know what they do
now....i just know it's a hard life...and if
you've got family, got kids...
something to think about the next time
you see a homeless person walking the
streets!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Work To Do!
i came from a generation
that worked.... was born to
work, daylight to dawn,
for everything we had.
we grew our own food, we
cut firewood, we worked
with our hands.
we were taught to work...
we built houses, bridges,
paved roads... worked on
farms, worked in sawmills,
worked in factories...
whatever it took for food
and shelter...
and if a neighbor got hurt,
or sick, and couldnt work...
we helped him and his family
till he could.
those of us left who can work
are still working, a lot of us are
out of work, and cant find work!
and so the world has changed...
it seems like a lot of people
spend more time avoiding work
than working... a lot of people
look for the easy way out...are
dependent on society...
still a lot of good and willing people
just need help.
they call this progress...based
on technology, and looking out for
number one. seperated, almost islands...
greed has taken the place of the bent back!
so when it all falls apart, and that will
be soon, what happens? who knows how
to survive? who has the backbone?
things to think about, and yes...
work to do!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Renewed Life
It was mid- afternoon and the sun was hot
As my eyes searched for a cool shaded spot.
But there was none to be found
As my feet burned from the scorching ground.
It seemed like miles that I had traveled
As my thoughts became unraveled.
Thinking about how my life had been
And in this battle could I win.
I lost my job, my house, my family too
Walking these streets not knowing what to do.
But there was something that for years
I had not done or tried
As I fell to the ground and began to cry.
LORD! My life has become empty and hollow
Is this a sign - that with you I should follow?
Right there and then a cloud covered the sun
When I heard a voice say 'your life has just begun'.
Follow this path that I will give
And you will see what it is to live '
Then the sun reappeared and washed away all my fears.
In its place came relief, and with it a new belief.
Of HOPE, FAITH, AND LOVE
Given to me from above.
I followed his path and spread his word
And preached to others that had never heard.
In the homeless shelters I found my flock
And from that point on - I did not stop.
The homeless now have their faith renewed
And this was the path that I had to do.
I had lost and gave up everything
From my old life, and the path
I now follow is of paradise.
poem by Louis Rams
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Homeless
Homeless;
- Down by the muddy Mississippi
Skinny as a rail,
Sleeping under the old Eads bridge
Feeling low, dirty, and frail -
Homeless;
- With less than two coins
In both pockets,
Empty eyes
Look through sunken sockets -
Homeless;
- So many people walk right on by
I wonder how many care,
They all keep moving
Even though they stare -
Homeless;
- Lost a job
Lost a home,
Lost a family
Lost all hope -
Homeless;
- Where will I go from here
What should I do,
I'm so thankful when the weather's fair
And the skies are blue -
Homeless;
- Don't know the day nor season
And, yea, it sure gets cold at night,
I've got an old sleeping bag
I'll be alright -
Homeless;
- There's so many of us out here
Without a home,
Even so
I feel so very alone -
Homeless;
- It's a tough situation
Not pretty, just true,
And at any time
It could happen to you -
Homeless;
- Hey buddy...
Could you spare a dime,
And say a prayer for us
... sometime -
- I'm just homeless, not less human...
poem by Smoky Hoss
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Place Where Light Is
In these cold rainy nights,
In these streets, in these dreams
I'll walk in my solitude
To a place where light is.
Do not ask who I am,
Do not ask where I go-
I've lost all direction,
Yet I always knew this-
I'll find my way back
To a place where light is.
No, it can't be that far-
I've walked many miles,
I've seen it in a smile
Of a girl like a breeze-
I'll find my way back
To a place where light is.
I've been walking in darkness
Of frozen minds,
I saw hearts that were numb
And eyes that were blind,
I saw tears and pain,
War and disease,
But I just kept on walking
To a place where light is.
Yes, I know it's near,
By those mulberry trees
And those valleys of daffodils,
Where the hummingbirds sing,
Where my love rests in waiting
With a smile like a breeze-
Yes, I'll find my way back
To a place where light is.
poem by Alexander Shaumyan
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Thela Hun Ginjeet
Well, first of all,
I couldnt even see his face.
I couldnt see his face.
He was holding a gun in his hand.
Umm... I was thinking...
This is a dangerous place..
This is a dangerous place..
I said, Im nervous as hell from this stuff.
I thought those guys were going to kill me for sure.
They ganged up on me like that.
I couldnt believe it.
Look, Im still shakin.
Weird.
There out in the streets like that.
Its a dangerous place.
Its a dangerous place.
So, suddenly, these two guys appear in front of me.
They stopped.
Real aggressive.
Start at me, you know.
Whats that? whats that on that tape?
What do you got there?
I said, huh?
They said, what are you talking into that for?
I said, its just a tape, you know
Well play it for me
I said oh, no
I put it off as long as I could.
And finally they turned it on, you know
They grabbed it from me.
Took it away from me.
Turned it on.
And it said, he held a gun in his hand. this is a dangerous place.
They said, what dangerous place? what gun? youre a policeman!
And the deeper I talked, the worse I got into it.
I talked, I told him... I said, look man, Im not talkin....
It went on forever.
Anyway, I finally unbuttoned my shirt, and said,
Look, look... Im in this band, you know, Im in this band you know,
And were makin a recording, you know.
Its about new york city, its about crime in the streets...
The explanation was going nowhere, but,
Finally, they just kinda let me go, I dont know why.
So I walk around the corner,
And Im like shakin like a leaf,
And I thought, this is a dangerous place
Who should appear, but two policeman.
song performed by by King Crimson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Vacancy, For Rent
walking the streets
of a small southern town...
empty buildings, empty houses,
'vacancy, for rent'
no one moving much,
even the church parking lots
are empty.... seems like
Jesus and His disciples
packed up, and moved on...
probably looking for work!
only a sense of quiet despair,
the sound of old cars rusting,
and the howling of a dog.
just read the news:
an elderly couple, married
67 years, murder suicide...
he'd been sick, she had
alzheimer's.... afraid there'd
be no one to take care of her...
another unmarked grave,
forgotten people, abandoned
by their own government.....
another empty house that
used to be a home...
'vacancy, for rent.'
just walking the streets
of a small southern town...
church bells are ringing...
and the smell of death
hangs in the air!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Hidden Poverty
In a Nation of many well off people they call it hidden poverty
The poor souls of the back streets that the wealthy never see
They live in condemned houses that are clearly in decay
And out of sight is out of mind or so 'twould seem that way.
In a Nation of many millionaires many live in a tent
People forced to become Homeless when their landlord on them raised their rent
The greed of the wealthy leads to homelessness and the numbers of the homeless multiply
The only roof that some know is the polluted Urban sky.
The Land of opportunity many have been known to say
Those who feel that all is rosy they themselves are doing okay
So many do grow poorer for every new millionaire
That is life some will tell you but life's not always fair.
In a Nation of many millionaires hidden poverty abound
And in the back streets of the City people sleep on the bare ground
Crudely referred to by some as losers and it seems sad to recall
That there was never such a thing as a 'fair go for all'.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Empty Old Houses
Empty Old Houses
Empty old houses can talk…
But one must know how to listen…
to hear them
Empty old houses have stories…
But one must be eager to listen…
to hear them
Empty old houses can suffer..
But one must have empathy …
To feel it
Empty old houses can feel pain
But one must be able to bear it …
To feel it
Empty old houses have memories
But one must believe … that they have…
To share them
Empty old houses contain people’s lives
But one must believe…that they do…
To share them
Empty old houses can seem dead and deserted
But one must know that they’re not..
To know them
Empty old houses can teem with life’s pleasures
But one must walk through
to sense the aura of life
Empty old houses abound in life’s treasures
But one cannot help but…
To admire them
poem by David Whalen
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The Big Country
I see the shapes,
I remember from maps.
I see the shoreline.
I see the whitecaps.
A baseball diamond, nice weather down there.
I see the school and the houses where the kids are.
Places to park by the factries and buildings.
Restaunts and bar for later in the evening.
Then we come to the farmlands, and the undeveloped areas.
And I have learned how these things work together.
I see the parkway that passes through them all.
And I have learned how to look at these things and I say,
(chorus)
I wouldnt live there if you paid me.
I couldnt live like that, no siree!
I couldnt do the things the way those people do.
I couldnt live there if you paid me to.
I guess its healthy, I guess the air is clean.
I guess those people have fun with their neighbors and friends.
Look at that kitchen and all of that food.
Look at them eat it guess it tastes real good.
They grow it in the farmlands
And they take it to the stores
They put it in the car trunk
And they bring it back home
And I say ...
(chorus)
I say, I wouldnt live there if you paid me.
I couldnt live like that, no siree!
I couldnt do the things the way those people do.
I wouldnt live there if you paid me to.
Im tired of looking out the windows of the airplane
Im tired of travelling, I want to be somewhere.
Its not even worth talking
About those people down there.
Goo goo ga ga ga
Goo goo ga ga ga
song performed by by Talking Heads
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Learning How To Smile
Five miles outside of Vegas when
we broke down
Threw my keys into that window
and we never looked back
We got all drunk and sloppy on a
Greyhound bus
We passed out cold so
All the losers
They were laughing at us
I will never let them break
your heart
I will never let them break me
We got lost in Phoenix
seemed like such a long time
Seven months of living swimming
On those thin white lines
I did some time
for selling acid to the wrong guy
Life just keeps on getting smaller
And we never ask why
Why there is no perfect place
Yes I know this is true
I'm just learning how to smile
And that's not easy to do
I know there will come a day
When we can leave
And just go running away
(ooh yeah)
we were broke outside of Philly
when the storms came
I was working in New Jersey
Hitching rides in the rain
You was happy talking dirty
at that phone sex place
Life just keeps on getting
weirder for us every day
You say there is no perfect place
I say I know this is true
We are just learning how to smile
And that's not easy to do
We both live for the day
When we can
Run away
Ah baby we can leave
And run away
We can leave this place
And run away
We can leave it all behind
Just like we do everytime
Yes we both live for the day
When we can leave
And just go running away
No I will never let it break
your heart
No I will never let it break me
Five miles outside of Vegas
Five years down the line
We got married in the desert
In the sunshine
I can't handle all the hell
That happens everyday
When you smile and touch my face
You make it all just go away
Yes I know there ain't no
finish line
I know this never ends
We are just learning how to fall
And climb back up again
I know there is nothing perfect
I know there is nothing new
We are just learning
how to live together
me and you
You know I live for the day
When you say
song performed by by Everclear
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Swallowed In The Sea
You cut me down a tree and brought it back to me
and thats what made me see where I was going wrong
You put me on a shelf and kept me for yourself
I can only blame myself, you can only blame me
and I could write a song a hundred miles long
Well thats where I belong and you belong with me
and I could write it down or spread it all around
Get lost and then get found or swallowed in the sea
You put me on a line and hung me out to dry
Darling thats when I decided to go to see you
You cut me down to size and opened up my eyes
Made me realize what I could not see
and I could write a book, the one they'll say that shook the world
and then it took, it took it back from me
and I could write it down and spread it all around
Get lost and then get found and you'll come back to me
Not swallowed in the sea
Oohhhhh Ahhhhhh
and I could write a song a hundred miles long
Well thats where I belong and you belong with me
The streets youre walking on, a thousand houses long
Well thats where I belong and you belong with me
Oh what good is it to live with nothing left to give
Forget but not forgive, not loving all you see
Oh the streets youre walking on a thousand houses long
Well thats where I belong and you belong with me
Not swallowed in the sea
You belong with me, not swallowed in the sea
Yeah you belong with me
Not swallowed in the sea.
song performed by by Coldplay
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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This Months Messiah
Im just a pilgrim here looking for holy ground
Im just a body lost but my soul can be found
How many miles to go
How many miles to babylon
I dont know where to turn when answers all fade clear
But I must find a place theres only questions here
How many miles to go
How many miles to babylon
How many miles to go
How many miles to babylon
I feel...feel like Im on trial
Who made a judge of you
Are you this months messiah
I am a fightin man tired of living under the gun
But am I looking for love or am I looking to run
How many miles to go
How many miles to babylon
How many miles to go
How many miles to babylon
I heard...i heard it on the wire
That its all up to you
Are you this months messiah
How many miles to go
How many miles to babylon
(mccafferty, agnew, charlton, sweet)
1984 fool circle music
song performed by by Nazareth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Million Miles Away
Friday night, Id just got back
I had my eyes shut, was dreaming about the past
I thought about you while the radio played
Should have got loaded but for some reason I stayed
I started drifting to a different place
I realized I was falling off the face of the world
And there was nothing there to bring us back
cause youre a million miles away
A million miles away
And theres nothing there to bring us back today
Todayoh no
I took a ride and I went downtown
The streets were empty, there was no one around
I went to places that we used to go
Seen all the places that we used to know
Im at the wrong end of the looking glass
Im trying to hold on to the hands of the past and you
And theres nothing there to bring us back
cause youre a million miles away
A million miles away
And theres nothing there to bring us back today
Todayoh no
cause youre million miles away
A million miles away
Just a million miles away
A million miles away
And theres nothing there to bring us back today
Todayayayoh no
song performed by by Goo Goo Dolls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Separation
If I walk a thousand miles
and have no place to go
my adventure will be worrisome
and all the things I know
will make me want to hesitate
before taking another stride.
For all the places I leave behind
are places where I cried.
But I needed the walk to show me
that escape was not the way.
All I did was travel right along
and at the end of the day
those miles I walked were numbing
and gave me nothing new.
So I walked a thousand more miles
and came back home to you.
My feet were sore. My heart was sore
but then I saw your face.
And all those miles that I walked
never could replace
the familiarity, the same old scene
and how being with you feels.
Time and space can't fix all wounds
but the walking somehow heals.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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Job Description
(alan jackson)
Well I know sometimes you find it hard
To understand just what we do out here
Well that bus rolls up at home
And I just disappear
And I sure dont like to leave you
Couldnt stand for you to think that I dont care
So I wrote this job description
Just to tell you what I do when Im not there
I sleep eighty miles an hour
To the whining of a diesel down the interstate
Dreamin bout my little girls
The easy chair that sits beside the fireplace
Then we shut her down in another town
Shower up and do just what we came to do
Sing for the people
Count the money and the miles back home to you
Well each night I take the stage
With a six-piece band and a guitar in my hand
Singin songs about my life
All the good times and the bad
Then we say goodbye and we load it up
And head somewhere Ive already been
Then I lay down in that double bed alone
And I thank the lord again
I sleep eighty miles an hour
To the whining of a diesel down the interstate
Dreamin bout my little girls
The easy chair that sits beside the fireplace
Then we shut her down in another town
Shower up and do just what we came to do
Sing for the people
Count the money and the miles back home to you
Well I just sing for the people
Count the money and the miles back home to you
song performed by by Alan Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The subway home
Riding on the subway home
Some people on the phone
Some people ride alone
People who worked all day
Because of bills they need to pay
The homeless guy has no place to stay
He just looks for a place to lay
When we stop at the station
They all go their separate ways
Back to their homes back to their caves
Little left for them to save
military man looks so brave
he just got home from an overseas stay
Blind man stands and sways
Father jay sits and prays
Sometimes i wish there was another way
In a life that seems to decay
How i wish i could get away
To a peaceful place someday
poem by Joseph Whelan
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Everytime
It was 3AM when you woke me up
Then we jumped in the car
And drove as far as we could go
Just to get away
We talked about our lives
Until the sun came up
Now I'm thinking about
How I wish I could go back
Just for one more day
One more day with you
Everytime I see your face
Everytime you look my way
It's like it all falls into place
Everything feels right
Ever since you walked away
And left my life in disarray
All I want is one more day
That's all I need
One more day with you
When the car broke down
We just kept walking along
Til we hit this town
There was nothing there at all
But that was all okay
We spent all our money on stupid things
But if I look back now
I'd probably give it all away
Just for one more day
One more day with you
Everytime I see your face
Everytime you look my way
It's like it all falls into place
Everything feels right
Ever since you walked away
And left my life in disarray
All I want is one more day
That's all I need
One more day with you
Now I'm sitting here
Like we used to do
I think about my life
And how there's nothing I won't do
Just for one more day
One more day with you
Everytime I see your face
Everytime you look my way
It's like it all falls into place
Everything feels right
(Everything feels right)
Everytime I hear your name
Everytime I feel the same
It's like it all falls into place
Everything, everything feels right
You walked away
Just one more day
It's all I need
Just one more day with you
song performed by by Simple Plan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Houses In Motion
For a long time I felt without style or grace
Wearing shoes with no socks in cold weather
I knew my heart was in the right place
I knew Id be able to do these things.
And as we watch him digging his own grave
It is important to know that was where hes at
He cant afford to stop...that is what he believe
Hell keep on digging for a thousand years.
Im walking a line-Im thining about empty motion
Im walking a line-just barely enough to be living
Get outa the way-no time to begin
This isnt the time-so nothing was done
Not talking about-not many at all
Im turning around-no trouble at all
You notice theres nothing around you, around you
Im walking a line-divide and dissolve.
Never get to say much, never get to talk
Tell us a little bit, but not too much
Right about then, is where she give up
She has closed her eyes, she has give up hope
Im walking a line-i hate to be dreaming in motion
Im walking a line-just barely enough to be living
Get outa the way-no time to begin
This isnt the time-so nothing was done
Not talking about-not many at all
Im turning around-no trouble at all
Im keeping my fingers behind me, hind me
Im walking a line-divide and dissolve.
I turn myself around, Im moving backwards and forwards
Im moving twice as much as I was before
Ill keep on digging to the center of the earth
Ill be down in there moving the in the room...
Im walking a line-visiting houses in motion
Im walking a line-just barely enough to be living
Get outa the way-no time to begin
This isnt the time-so nothing was done
Not talking about-not many at all
Im turning around-no trouble at all
Two different houses surround you, round you
Im walking a line-divide and dissolve.
song performed by by Talking Heads
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Me & Virgil
Ma would never say what happened
And we knew better than push too hard
We knew we had all the chores to tend to
Like fixing fences and helping her
Washing dishes and making coffee
Me and virgild chop some wood
But wed stop our swinging
Just to listen to her crying
It didnt sound too good
I can remember, too well
But we never thought to pay much heed
We learned to live life the best we could
But then one day pa upped and left us
High and dry without a word
Seemed a pity
My ma was pretty
But I soon learned life aint that way
And I can remember hearing her weeping
While we were sleeping next to her
I can remember
Ill never forgive and Ill never forget
Cos pa you broke her heart
Ooh pa you broke her heart
You broke her heart
Ooh pa you broke her heart
Well the years rolled by
And fore we knew it
Our sister got married and moved out west
I stayed with ma, cos I couldnt desert her
I knew it would hurt her to be alone
So we pulled tighter
We said wed try to make things easy
And raise a smile
But as the night came
Wed hear her crying
Praying for pa to come back again
I can remember
Ill never forgive him and Ill never forget
Cos pa you broke her heart
Oh pa you broke her heart
And then the winter came
Id never known it colder
Ooh it seemed the worst for years
And the night she died I swear I saw her smiling
Saying I was a big boy now, no tears
So I packed up all we had, and virgil got the horses
And we paid our last respects and gave the whip a crack
Ooh, seemed a big bad world, we were riding into
Me and virgil both agreed, we best head off
And dont look back
Nothing but desert all around
Oh it made me wonder
Lord its hard to carry on
When youre sick with hunger
Weeks and months of sleeping rough
Keeping clear of danger
Seems we were miles from anywhere
And too far gone to change it
Wed best keep going, dont look back
Well me and virgil we beat the desert
Riding fast and riding hard
We hit the city, the past behind us
So we raised some hell, we had some fun
But real soon I met a lady oh so pretty, and oh so fine
fore too long I found myself married
With a home of my own and a blue eyed son
And til this day I can hear ma saying to me -
Youre a big boy now
song performed by by Genesis
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Girl That I Met
I met her down streets one evening,
She was coming out of what she calls home,
Where she had left a family,
That is her responsibility,
To provide all the necessities.
She’s a mother and a father,
To the two younger girls at home,
For their parents had passed away,
About four years ago from the disease,
Then she should take care of the family.
There’s no uncles and aunts for them,
All they did was to sweep away everything,
Cars, estates, houses and everything,
Leaving the kids with concrete poverty,
And the children are now suffering.
I asked that orphaned girl how she managed,
To feed the family at her age under eighteen,
She started crying but she dared to tell me,
The story of her everyday life,
The story that keeps on torturing my mind.
She sells drugs down streets every day,
Then selling her body downtown every night,
Making sure she earns something,
To be back with at home for the family to survive,
Family needs shelter, food and clothes.
poem by Fadhy Mtanga
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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