Editor’s Note:   Elaine Patrick has thankfully never before had to experience homelessness, but we felt that her poem was powerful and vivid enough to warrant its inclusion in our poetry section.

“Homelessness”

by  Elaine Patrick

Published: July 10, 2009

No more the tasks and daily grind
and bills that steal my piece of mind.
No longer the dread of the daily post
I am not here, I’m just a ghost,
I’m homeless you see.

No longer, the castle that was my home
no boundaries set, I’m all alone.
No worries where my next meal’s from
Let’s face it, I’m just a bum,
I’m homeless you see.

No more feelings of despair
my kid is gone, taken into care.
No more jobs, so I’ve been told
Can’t have welfare, no fixed abode,
I’m homeless you see.

No insurance, that was the trick
my employer’s used when my kid got sick.
well you should have known, was the stock reply,
when I ran out of money, they left my kid to die.
I’m homeless you see.

No point complaining, I hear you say
Hope’s there tomorrow, but gone today.
I sold everything so that she could live
apart from love, I have no more to give.
I’m homeless you see.

No worries now, the cupboard’s bare
but ponder this when you stop and stare.
I used to be where you came from,
I’m not a ghost, I’m not a bum.
I’m just homeless you see.

Or do you?

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