Will work for food, the sign they show
Please help a vet down on his luck
Diverting their eyes the passersby go
Life on the street a vicious cycle they’re stuck
~
Hey there mister can you spare a dime
Or maybe a buck to try to get home
Would it be possible to give me some time
We’re so tired of being in the cold all alone
~
We could be your sisters and your brothers
We used to have jobs, families and homes
We could be your fathers and your mothers
Hungry and weary, nothing but skin and bones
~
Obligated as humans should we be one to another
Practicing what we preach by seeing to the needs of the other
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 
Lovely and very profound!
Thank you very much. :)
I lived in Philly for a few years, and I got to know some of my homeless neighbors. Some of them were really nice people who ended up on the street – and some of them were there because of mental illness (usually schizophrenia) and some because of addiction. Some were honest as the day is long and others were thieves. A vicious cycle – yes. Heartbreaking – yes.
But, honestly, some were deserving of our generosity and kindness, and others were not. I saw young guys who stole an old man’s spot (a prime spot for shelter and collecting money). I always supported the old man, who I got to know since I spoke to him almost daily. I never gave a dime to the bullies who kicked him out of him home (even though it was on the street – it was home to him).
Getting to understand the people who were homeless in my neighborhood gave me a perspective that equals people we meet in every day life. Some are good – and some are not.
All of that aside, I do like your poem. I appreciate where it comes from.
Thank you Rob, there are good and deserving people at all levels of society, your personal perspective proves this. I really appreciate your well thought out and informative comment and thank you for liking my poem.
Beautifully written about a subject which is truthfully not – wonderful writing Dom.
Thank you very much Kimberly, it is a horrible subject, but one which needs to be addressed until it is solved.
An important message Dom, the toughest time is begining for the street homeless, they deserve our help.
I think so, ignoring them won’t make the problem go away. They need our help and we should be willing to do whatever it takes to solve this problem.
My hometown “solved” its homeless situation by going to the wooded area where they camp and tearing down all the trees. They also got rid of the fences and made the whole area a flat, open, unprotected, un-shielded grassy area. Nice huh? To my knowledge, none of the homeless people ever hurt anyone. It was just “awkward” for people to be confronted by the homeless. But hey, I live deep-in-the-heart of redland. Shouldn’t be a surprise should it?
Great poem, Dom.
Thank you Jen. It is terrible, we treat the homeless like criminals for being down on their luck, mentally ill or whatever the cause and force them out. In my opinion this is done because it is easier to make them disappear than to deal with the problem of homelessness. A very sad way to deal with an all too common problem.
Yes, my town chose the easy “make ’em invisible” plan. One guy has cancer and no health insurance, therefore no health care. Better not think about it, right? Sad.
Very sad indeed. I know that one person cannot save everyone, but to help when one can seems to be the human thing to do. I think that most people forget that they are one bad event away from being homeless. You would think that that reality would make people more compassionate, but it seems to turn them more greedy and heartless. It is a terrible thing for which I don’t see an end. I’m sure that your town is not unlike many others in this country that would like to make the homeless invisible. This is definitely not the right thing to do, nor is it any way to solve the problem of homelessness.
There’s a Phil Ochs song: “There but for Fortune”. More people should listen to it.
Thank you for saying what needs to be said.
My pleasure, its nice to banter back-and-forth with someone of like mind.
:D