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
