Untitled
What do you know about going without?
Do you feel that you can understand what having nothing is about?
I have been living on these streets wearing the same clothes for weeks.
I don’t have money to wash my clothes and brush my teeth
But how do you know what is happening underneath?
I don’t get support from my family and that is real
Some don’t trust me around because I used to steal.
Most of my family is screwed up anyway
So I can’t expect to look to them for a place to stay.
I can’t eat when I am hungry because I don’t have money.
My kids getting fed is my priority.
My income is so far in the red,
Their lives would be better if I were dead.
You say that I need a job to support myself
But you don’t know the hand that I have been dealt.
We need a roof over our head that I can’t afford,
It doesn’t help that I have a criminal record.
Life is hard in itself and even harder on these streets
I just can’t seem to get back on my feet.
I can’t see my kids because I am unfit
But you place my child with molesters and people that hit.
Social Workers are quick to criticize
But they are the ones who need to be scrutinized in my eyes.
I got kids by a dead beat dad,
I had to work two jobs and pick and choose what bills to pay with what I had.
I know that I made some bad choices in my life,
But I didn’t make them by myself and that aint right.
Yes, shelters are there to help cope with the stress of homelessness.
They want to know about how much money you have and that you spent.
But do you know that they have the nerve to want rent?
It must be nice to have an education to be all you can be
But why do you think that I have no dreams when you look at me.
All you see is a bum begging for money to buy booze,
But did you notice the holes in my shoes?
What do you know about going without for weeks? What do you know about me?

-Anonymous