Crisis at Christmas

I originally wrote this in December 2013 but it is still relevant so. Have revamped it a little. I make no apologies for repeating this poem most years.

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I hope it won’t snow this Christmas

It’s one of my biggest fears.

It was so bitter last year even

Thinking of it makes me shed tear.

The homeless won’t be eating Turkey with all the trim

Unless they find a charity shelter which they can get in.

The people at the shelters are angels from up above

They give their time and plenty love.

They really are saviours they really do so much good.

They give warmth and comfort, dinner and even Christmas pud.

OH! why are they out here I hear you say.

There are lots of reasons, have you got all day?

Dave got made redundant the bills he couldn’t pay

So the bank stepped in and took his home away.

His wife could not stand the B&B that the social offered them

So she took the children off to live with her mum so Dave won’t see them again.

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Jen, she was cheeky girl always having fun

Staying out late and playing up in the end it got too much for her mum!

After a big row one night in the summer she asked Jen to go,

So she is struggling alone out there.When your homeless it is amazing how fast your friends all go.

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Rob well his story is very sad,

It all started with his drinking then he discovered drugs. He became violent and everything turned bad.

He fell out with his mother’s boyfriend who told him he had to go

And then threw him out into the December snow.

The reasons are legion you can take your pick,

People who loose their jobs because they became sick

From parents who can’t cope

To addictions that make you loose all hope,

Parents or family who beat you, family who will not stop at a touch

They want you to give them way too much.

This may all seem morbid this may all seem too sad

I hate to tell you all, things can be so very, very bad.

People young and old see their hopes and dreams unfold and vanish in clouds of smoke

As they end up on the streets lost and without any hope.

So enjoy your Christmas parties, your families and your Yule tide fare

But as you raise a toast remember the homeless ones out there .

YOU CAN DONATE OR HELP HERE

Homeless at Christmas

Where is she going and where has she been.

She is the most hopeless soul you have ever seen

Why is she out there why so alone .

Does no one miss her, has she no loving home.

Where are her parents , her teachers and friends

Is this all that is left to her, is this hopelessness where she ends.

Out in all weathers, aimless, sharing a bench with the old men in the park.

Scrounging for coffee and scraps of food from the back of the restaurants after dark.

Her Mother’s boyfriend was too fond of her. Her Mum to frightened or to busy to care.

Her teachers too busy didn’t notice the signs. Lost weight and dull eyes, loss of all flair.

It all came to a head when Mum found her with HIM in bed.

Mum wouldn’t listen to a word that she said.

He had raped her, she had pleaded her case .

But her Mum had screamed at her and then slapped her face

So now lost and lonely with no where to go

She wonders the big city her fears in full flow.

No one to love her no one to care she is homeless and helpless and underage.

Already she is changing , she has stolen for drink, her life’s spiraling downward and her head’s full of rage.

Why had Mum not listened , why had Mum let him push her out

She lost and she is hopeless prey to demons and doubt………………….

Image from Pixabay

“The poor are always with us” this is an old saying. Sadly it is very true and these days we are seeing more and more people sleeping rough.

Even in the small town I now live in I see more and more people sleeping rough. By homeless I don’t just mean men we are seeing more women and boys. They are getting younger.

Have you heard of Crisis at Christmas. You can either donate your time this Christmas this year or your money. Here is their Link.