On the road to homeless
There is a man I see
That has been brought to his knees
I have watched
His steady decline
Over a long period of time
When I first saw him
He was at the start
Of ‘Homeless Street’
What brought him there
I do not know
But the progress he’s made
Has been long and slow
At the beginning
He still had his self-respect
But now
He has nothing left
He’s given in, he’s given up
He has no standards to keep
Because the taste of alcohol
Is way too sweet
It’s takes the edge off
All the misery and pain
And maybe in a bottle
He’ll find himself once again
But for the moment
He has let go of a life
He used to know
He doesn’t care for
Other peoples’ thinking anymore
Why should he?
When they don’t care
If he’s just got a box
To use as a blanket
Whilst sleeping out in the cold
How much longer he’ll survive
Is any ones’ guess
But I can’t see him
Ever growing old.
Sharon Carter-Wray
(Thurs 22nd Nov 2019)
Note: This poem is based on an actual person, whom I have witnessed go through this process, and it has been very sad to watch. But, it is also a reminder that there is a lot of us who walk on a very thin line, literally just surviving from month to month. And this could so easily happen to anyone of us. Sx ❤️