Homeless

Gordon Brown, whom I much admire, had this to say on poverty in the UK:

Homelessness is now rising fast. The Big Issue reported just last week that 227,000 people are experiencing the worst forms of homelessness – rough sleeping, sleeping in vans and sheds and stuck in B&Bs across England, Scotland and Wales.

And those numbers will sadly be rising as food and fuel bills soar and rent arrears force hard-pressed tenants out of their homes now that the support keeping a roof over vulnerable heads during the Covid crisis has gone.

Homeless

The streets of a town, somewhere
In alleyways, the hidden places
They lay down in cold and fear
With hungry and unhappy faces

Those passing by, with a bare glance
Don’t look to close, catch the eye
Ignore the happenstance of chance
Fearful cold where they shall die

Unforgiving rain is beating down
On bundle of rags, cardboard home
This could be any street, any town
Where the very poor can roam

On pavement they lay a weary head
And rarely given their daily bread