RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: HOMELESSNESS
Moving the Homeless
It doesn’t matter whether you call them
The unhoused, homeless or unsheltered
The unhoused are homeless
The homeless have no shelter
The homeless have always been
As long as the river runs
As long as the sun rises in the east
During the Great Depression
The homeless lived in Hoovervilles
Or followed the rails in hobo camps
There were soup kitchens for the poor
There were shelters from the storm
When times got rough in one place
The cops moved them along
The railroad bulls beat them
Catch em if you can
We’ve come a long way since then
But the homeless are still here
In ever increasing numbers
They camped in parks until the rangers
Came around to push them out
They camped by the riverside until
The river cops pushed them out
They camped on the streets until
The street cops pushed them out
I don’t know what the solution is
But pushing the homeless from one
Camp to another is not an answer
It’s just a way of avoiding the question
We have a right to expect some service
Of all individuals – even the homeless –
In exchange, individuals have a right to
Expect fulfillment of basic needs
Including food and shelter
