Homeless in Brussels

It's Poverty Day* but did you know?
Lonely souls with dogs in tow
Are homeless on our rain-splashed streets
With cardboard boxes their retreats...

Or in Metro gangways lie
Ignored by rush-hour passers-by
What has brought them down so low?
It's clear they have nowhere to go...

Many appropriate their spot
Each paper cup hopes coins will drop
When they catch a sympathetic eye
At least inside they're in the dry!

With unemployment on the rise
And higher rents, it's no surprise
That many slip through safety net
As normal needs cannot be met.

The phenomenon seems set to stay;
Computers make our lives today
Faster but impersonal too;
There but for fortune – me or you …

(c) Poet in the woods 2016



*International Day for the Eradication of Poverty - 17th October