That Look
a young man
walking down the street...
stopped to talk.
out of work roofer
for a coupla years...
doing odd jobs
when he can...
trying to raise
three small children
on about $300 a month,
and food stamps...
he had that look,
you know, that look,
that gonna get shot
crawling in somebody's window...
trying to steal something
to keep them kids a going...
look...
you know that look!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Faye the eye of the Storm Part 4
I used to take her out once a month for her food stamps.She didn't even appreciate what I did for her. Thanks to me she didn't lose the food stamps because I told the social worker. She really needed her food stamps live on. written 8/17/08 Posted 11/9/08
poem by Susie Sunshine
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Children Of Poverty Street
At least spare a thought for the children the children of Poverty Street
They are homeless as young teenagers and against the odds they must compete
Their parents serving time for robbery and narcotic offences and most of their role models in jail
Their circumstance of birth is a huge mark against them the poor young people destined to fail.
They steal for to buy food, drugs and alcohol on Poverty Street life is tough
Too young much too young to be homeless without shelter and sleeping rough
They are pushed to the social fringes the young people society disown
Ignored by the Government Bureaucracies and to the Police only known.
Who could envy them their existence those born into cruel circumstance
The Gods are completely against them of success they do not stand a chance
For them life is such a great battle they must battle their ghosts of despair
They don't even dream of the good life to them life is very unfair.
You who waffle on of life's choices with you talk is always so cheap
Bet you were not homeless at thirteen and on a park bench had to sleep
You would not talk of life's choices if you had to steal for to eat
If you felt alone and abandoned like the children of Poverty Street.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Growing Up In America!
you turned your children loose,
out in the streets of poverty....
only a few given a chance,
the rest left to fend for theirselves!
no jobs, unless you wanna soldier,
kill or be killed for oil....
then no jobs when you return,
and no house to return to!
food stamps and government aid,
till that eventually runs out....
then back on the streets where you started,
kill or be killed to survive....
dealing dope, dealing flesh, stealing cars,
no hope of anything more!
get caught and go to prison,
not in a gang, better join one!
poor white kids, poor kids of color,
growing up in America!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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On My Shadow's Head
You talk about law
You talk about fate
You talk about money
And finally hate
You're bringing me up
You're spinning me round
And I'm dancing now and you're shouting
at me from the crowd
You talk about wars
You talk to the stars
You cry with my soul
From a window with bars
You spirit me out you follow me home
You're walking on my shadow's head
I'm never alone
You martyr the good
Find food for the weak
You nourish the fool
With the wisdom you speak
You're haunting the man
Who shows no remorse
You're walking on my shadow's head
And changing my course
You talk about wars
You talk to the stars
You cry with my soul
From a window with bars
You spirit me out you follow me home
You're walking on my shadow's head
I'm never alone
You mock the sinner
Who's back of the street
Not convinced by his lies
You attack him in sleep
Then you punish the child
Years after the deed
You're walking on my shadow's head
So I never cheat
You talk about wars
You talk to the stars
You cry with my soul
From a window with bars
You spirit me out you follow me home
You're walking on my shadow's head
I'm never alone
You martyr the good
Find food for the weak
You nourish the fool
With the wisdom you speak
You're haunting the man
Who shows no remorse
You're walking on my shadow's head
And changing my course
I thought I could handle myself, but you
raised the alarm.
I was driven by ancient forces, and you
were always with me -
Breathing deeply, laughing freely, beating
evil.
And for ever I can hear and see you,
staring into the eyes of your endless faces
Never looking for escape, just a new shape
Still talking, still talking
Walking on my shadow's head
I will see you when we're all dead
Walking on my shadow's head.
Still talking
Walking on my shadow's head
poem by Pawan Kumar 'Meonlafesta'
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May God Help The Poor Children
He help the homeless children the children of the street
He give them clothes and shelter he give them food to eat
He try to shield them from police the police no mercy show
And the glue sniffing children of the streets at their hands suffer so.
I watched a documentary on Guatemala the saddest I've seen for years
The crimes against the children moved hardened heart to tears
The police of Guatemala beat the street kids to death
How can men do such evil things and not live to regret? .
The street kids of Guatemala they know Bruce Harris well
He try to keep them from the streets from life of crime and hell
He try to shield them from police from cruel inhuman men
His is an uphill battle a battle hard to win.
He help the homeless children the children of the street
He give them clothes and shelter he give them food to eat
And may God help the poor children such suffering they go through
And God bless all those who help them and God bless Bruce Harris too.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Gonna Raise Hell
Words and music by rick nielsen
Gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell.
Gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell.
Ambition? ha!
If all Ive heard is true,
Theres nothin much I can do
To change the world, its irreversible.
But in what it lacks,
Its got a taste that smacks of somethin irresistable.
Gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell.
Gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell.
Submission? yes!
Now I wont name names, and a secrets a secret,
But a hints a hint or a clue.
You really wanna know, you really wanna go,
Theres only two things you got to do.
Gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell.
Gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell.
Mother, mother.
Mother, mother.
Mother, mother.
My mission? ah, yes!
Everybody hear? everybody here,
Its a fate I all agree.
Sometimes you win, I never lose,
To me its no mystery.
Gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell.
Gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell, gonna raise hell.
(repeat to coda)
song performed by by Cheap Trick
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What Would The Children Think
She wakes up in the morning with the new sunrise
Looks at her husband sleeping still
Inside she cries
She makes the children breakfast
Gets them on their way
Watching them through the window
She prepares to face another day
Then her husband tells her
That he wont be home til late
Theres so much work hell have to stay behind
But she knows it isnt work thats on his mind
But still hell never leave her
Cause what would the children think
Where would the children go
What would the children do
If they knew the way it was
But theyll never learn because
What would the children think
Where would the children think
At the gate she kissed him
And watched him walk
Hoping this small charade
Will stop the neighbors talk
She turns to hide a tear
Inside her gilded cage
She cries for the love she could not hold
And lost to someone half her age
Then her pride and breakin heart
Tell her to run away
But she values what shes got a little more
Two kids, one 9 and nearly 4
And she would never leave them cause
What would the children think
Where would the children go
What would the children do
If they knew the way it was
But theyll never learn because
What would the children think
Where would the children think
What would the children think
Where would the children go
What would the children do.
song performed by by Rick Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Plight of Working Men
Work, work, laborious work
has taken its toll on men.
Their backs all sweaty,
their hands all chafed
and all their fingernails, ten
Caked with dirt, caked with grime,
unable to keep them clean.
Their arms are weary
at day's end.
Their legs are lank and lean.
Their shoes they leave right at the door,
a reminder of what they do.
Back-breaking jobs
to earn their pay,
jobs that are never through.
And yet they hold back
whines and complaints
and suffer in silent ways.
In the house that is their nest
their voice they will not raise.
Tired bodies and burned out dreams
have stopped the hopes of these men.
They methodically work
their laborious jobs
and wait for their days to end.
poem by Edwina Reizer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Six O'Clock News
he sat in the parking lot,
a Vietnam vet, breathing hard,
fog rising in the cold....
across the way two kids
were getting ready to raise
the flag... just another day....
they'd been married for 30 years.
he met her when he was thirty,
and she was just sixteen....
now he was over sixty,
and his health was bad....
and she'd been fooling around
with a man her own age.
he just couldnt see, just couldnt
believe... nowhere to go.
he watched her walk from the
building to her car, fumbling with keys.
walking up behind her, he called
her name... she turned, a look of horror,
just a deer caught in the headlights.
he pulled the pistol and shot her....
before her body even fell
he put the barrel in his mouth,
and fired again....
the two kids stopped, flag
at about half mast.... sunlight
barely piercing the fog....
America dead, two bodies strewn
in a parking lot... another feed
for the six o'clock news!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Gimme Shelter
Oh, the storm is threatening
My very life today.
If I dont get some shelter
Oh yeah, Im gonna fade away
War, children, its just a shot away
Its just a shot away
War, children, its just a shot away
Its just a shot away
See the fire sweepin
Our very streets today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way
War, children, its just a shot away
Its just a shot away
War, children, its just a shot away
Its just a shot away
Well, murder
Its just a shot away
Well, murder
Its just a shot away
Brother, sister
Its just a kiss away
Well, murder
Its just a kiss away, kiss away, kiss away
song performed by by Goo Goo Dolls
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Out In The Street
Put on your best dress baby
And darlin, fix your hair up right
Cause theres a party, honey
Way down beneath the neon lights
All day youve been working that hard line
Now tonight youre gonna have a good time
I work five days a week girl
Loading crates down on the dock
I take my hard earned money
And meet my girl down on the block
And monday when the foreman calls time
Ive already got friday on my mind
When that whistle blows
Girl, Im down the street
Im home, Im out of my work clothes
When Im out in the street
I walk the way I wanna walk
When Im out in the street
I talk the way I wanna talk
When Im out in the street
When Im out in the street
When Im out in the street, girl
Well, I never feel alone
When Im out in the street, girl
In the crowd I feel at home
The black and whites they cruise by
And they watch us from the corner of their eye
But there aint no doubt girl, down here
We aint gonna take what theyre handing out
When Im out in the street
I walk the way I wanna walk
When Im out in the street
I talk the way I wanna talk
Baby, out in the street I dont feel sad or blue
Baby, out in the street Ill be waiting for you
When the whistle blows
Girl, Im down the street
Im home, Im out of my work clothes
When Im out in the street
I walk the way I wanna walk
When Im out in the street
I talk the way I wanna talk
When Im out in the street
Pretty girls, theyre all passing by
When Im out in the street
From the corner, we give them the eye
Baby, out in the street I just feel all right
Meet me out in the street, little girl, tonight
Meet me out in the street
Meet me out in the street
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Work
Work is what we have to do
to put food on the table
we work for years and years
that is until we are unable.
We are asked at school
what we want to be?
I remember telling the teacher
that I want to play football for Coventry.
There's all types of work to do
like in an office or a building site
if your lucky you can do sport
be a Boxer and get paid to fight.
But most of us don't do that
and often we do jobs that we hate
like working in a horrible factory
starting early and finishing late.
But some workers love their jobs
and rarely ever miss a day
they enjoy being there so much
they'd probably work for no pay.
Work is a big part of life
so best do something you like
earn vast amounts of money
buy a flash car instead of a bike.
So be happy wherever you work
no matter what job that may be
but most of us want to retire early
that's why we keep on doing the lottery!
poem by Kevin Halls
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Main Street
One light blinking off and on
Blood of life in this town is gone
Lost all its pieces but the pawn
Tomorrow stopped coming with the dawn
In my dreams, Ive seen
Things that only seem to happen on the silver screen
When its over theres no walking out
Cuz Ive been all they talk about
Cuz what aint goin down
On main street
I went too early with a friend of mine
Just to see what it was all about
Hit the freeway and it blew my mind,
I had to find a way of gettin out
She said, they say, hey you gotta live a little
In my mind, Id find lost aint living,
Even there in the middle of main street
Yeah....
Never did the things I though I would
Woulda left just didnt know I could
If things dont work like they should
It aint for better but its for good
Cuz in my dreams Ive seen
Things that only seem to happen on the silver screen
When its over theres no walking out
Cuz Ive been all they talk about
Cuz what aint goin down
In my dreams Ive seen
Things that only seem to happen on the silver screen
When its over theres no walking out
Cuz Ive been all they talk about
Cuz what aint goin down
On main street
song performed by by Garth Brooks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Walking After Midnight
Theres a face in the window
Lookin back at me
Theres a face in the window
I just cant see.
That face in the window
Keeps haunting me.
I went walking after midnight
Up and down the street
I went walking after midnight
Up and down the street
When I stopped for a smoke
I heard shuffling feet.
Well, I stopped for a smoke
What did I see?
A face in the filter
Lookin back at me.
Ah, listen to me baby
Hear what I have to say.
Yeah, listen to me baby
Hear what I have to say.
These midnight blues
They wont go away
These midnight blues
Wont go away.
Yeah, I stopped for a smoke
What did I see?
A face in the filter
Lookin back at me.
Im walking after midnight
Well, Im walking after midnight.
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Have You Ever Wished
Have you ever wished your luck would turn your life crosses so heavy to bear
Your financial woes keep increasing yet you know your type are not rare
With a wife and two young children to support and a huge mortgage on your home to pay
You have to work hard for a living and for you never an easy day
You wake in the dark of the morning and board the bus for your workplace
You work sixty hours a week monday to friday the weariness showing on your tired face
On you life has never been easy but hope from you it has not gone
You look to a financially better and a happier future and to that you keep working on
You've asked the boss for a raise in wages but his answer to you was no
For ten years you have worked hard for his company but for your effort financially wise you don't have much to show
You have applied for jobs to other companies but jobs are not easy to find
The job you work in you must stick at though to work there you do not feel inclined
The quotation from Shaw 'Life's not meant to be easy' to you surely has to apply
And you know of the survival battle of that you none can deny.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Am (Continued)
i am, become...
i am the lonesome wail
of streets gone empty,
of factories deserted,
of shops closed down.
i am the abortion clinic bombed
by the right wing fanatic,
and the baby left with a baby
that she cannot raise.
i am the food pantry,
the mission, the soup line...
my faces used to be your neighbors.
i am the tractor rusted in the snow,
the well gone dry...
i am the young gay couple
wanting so much to marry,
i am the fundamentalist afraid
of anything i dont understand.
i am the heroin addict
on the endless stoop,
i am the black child growing up
in a neighborhood terrorized.
i am the immigrant looking for work,
i am the crops left rotting in the fields...
i am the bedpan changer, the floor sweeper,
and the emergency room nurse...
i am the single mom,
food stamps, and no work...
the young man who drives
the old woman out to vote.
i am the balled up fist,
the set lip, the phallic rose...
i am America exploding!
i am, become...
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad
Two shots of happy, one shot of sad
You think Im no good, well I know Ive been bad
Took you to a place, now you cant get back
Two shots of happy, one shot of sad
Walked together down a dead end street
We were mixing the bitter with the sweet
Dont try to figure out what we might of had
Just two shots of happy, one shot of sad
Im just a singer, some say a sinner
Rolling the dice, not always a winner
You say Ive been lucky, well hell Ive made my own
Not part of the crowd, but not feeling alone
Under pressure, but not bent out of shape
Surrounded, we always found an escape
Drove me to drink, but hey thats not all bad
Two shots of happy, one shot of sad
Guess Ive been greedy, all of my life
Greedy with my children, my lovers, my wife
Greedy for the good things as well as the bad
Two shots of happy, one shot of sad
Maybe its just talk, saloon singing
The chairs are all stacked, the swingings stopped swinging
You say I hurt you, you put the finger on yourself
Then after you did it, you came crying for my help
Two shots of happy, one shot of sad
Im not complaining, baby Im glad
You call it a compromise, well whats that
Two shots of happy, one shot of sad
Two shots of happy, one shot of sad
(happy birthday, frank)
song performed by by U2
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Last Time
I'm a gonna raise a fuss
I'm a gonna raise a holler
about a workin' all summer
just to try to earn a dollar
ev'ry time I call my Baby
try to get a date
my Boss says
No dice, Son,you gotta work late
.
Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do
but there ain't no cure for the Summertime Blues.
A well my Mom 'n' Papa told me
Son, you gotta make some money,if you wantta use the carto go a ridin' next Sunday,
well
I didn't go to work
told the Boss I was sick
Now you can't use the car,'cause you didn't work a lick.
(I'm gonna) take two weeks
gonna have a fine vacation
I'm gonna take my problem
to the United Nations !
Well
I called my Congressmen
and he quote
I'd like to help you, Son,but you're too young to vote
.
Sometimes I wonder what I'm a gonna do
but there ain't no cure for the Summertime Blues.
song performed by by Who
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Street Only Knew Your Name
Your street, rich street or poor
You should always be sure of your street
There's a place in your heart,
When you know from the start
And you can't be complete without a street
Keep movin' on, just like a train
Sometimes you gotta look back to the street again
Would you prefer all those castles in spain
Or a view of the street from your window pane
When you were young, so young
So very very young
When you were young, so young
So very very young
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name, oh your precious name, precious name
There was walter and joy, kate and roy
All hung around the corner lamplight
Get together sing some songs
Like boppin' the blues - you make me feel alright
That was long before fortune and fame
No such thing as a star when you've played that game
Everyone knew who everyone was
There was no preference in the street no, no
When you were young, so young
So very very young
When you were young, so young
So very very young
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name, oh your precious name
And you walked around in the heart of town
Listening for that sound
And you walk around in the heart of town
Listening for that sound
Blue suede shoes, it was the blue suede shoes
When you were young, so young
So very very young
When you were young, so young
So very very young
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
And the street only knew your name
song performed by by Van Morrison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Bad Bad Boy
Im a bad, bad, boy
And Im gonna steal your love
Said Im a bad, bad, boy
And Im gonna steal your love
Come take me to your house
Then Im gonna rip you off
Well I made my first kill
With the old town girl
She was the apple of her daddys eye
Well that woman looked up at me
And I said honey well be
Together till the day I die
But I lied
Im a bad, bad, boy
And Im gonna steal your love
Im a bad, bad, boy
And Im gonna steal your love
Come take me to your house
Then Im gonna rip you off
There seems to be no end
Of women who are lookin for a man
My services dont come cheap
But I help out when I can
Tell them lies that they wanna hear
Andi really lead em on
Spend all of their money
And Im long, gone
Im a bad, bad, boy
And Im gonna steal your love
Im a bad, bad, boy
And Im gonna steal your love
Come take me to your house
Then Im gonna rip you off
Ive got tastes for fast cars
I dont wanna settle down
The good life sure come s easily
With all the mugs around
The women they just come to me
I dont have to look around
I move into their homes with them
Then I move on
Im a bad, bad, boy
And Im gonna steal your love
Im a bad, bad, boy
Im gonna steal your love
Come take me to your house
Then Im gonna rip you off
Im a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad,bad, bad, bad, bad,bad,bad, bad, boy
Im bad, Im bad, Im bad, Im such a, such a bad, bad boy
Im gonna rip you off
Just take control of your mind
Im a bad, bad, boy
Im gonna steal your love
Im a bad, bad, boy
Im gonna steal your love
Im gonna rip you off
Just take control of the time
Im a bad, bad,bad,bad,bad
You know Im a bad boy
Im so bad.....
song performed by by Nazareth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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