" Not only our future economic soundness but the very soundness of our democratic institutions depends on the determination of our government to give employment to idle men .*"
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
Transient home
Why must we roam?
Cities compassionate
Foundations to be laid
Permits are needed
But why all the fright?
Humans are we
And so are they
Why the divide
I cannot say.
Author notes
A Civil War song, came to mind, while writing this poem. It doesn't directly relate to this write, however, here's a link to click on for those who might be interested:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/tenting.html
http://www.local.com/results.aspx?keyword=Veterans+Organizations&location=Seattle+Wa
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3CHomeless+Veterans%3E
http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=1757
http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~public/doclibrary/Hoover/jackson.shtml
See also:
http://allpoetry.com/poem/3292530
For more information about the homeless, just click on these Google Links:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3Chomeless+youth%3E
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=%3Chomelessness%3E
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWO,RNWO:2008-24,RNWO:en&q=Homeless+Families
*http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/franklin_d_roosevelt.html
In a list
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Comments
1 - 27 of 27
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very thought provoking... and its true at the end of the day we all have alot in common, yet we stand divided. good write
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Thank you for your comments; compliments, and applause for I do appreciate them.
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Ah! But should our government be determined to "give employment to idle men," or should it get out of the way of business, allowing business-owners the prosperity to hire. And who says those who do not work, want to? Should we force labor on those who would refuse it?
As someone who personally has taken in many a transient, and tried to help them back on thier feet, believe me when I say most of them have made their choice for reasons the working class cannot understand.
Ambition in a free society will lead to success, or work of some kind, but for many a simple hand-out will do. And as long as there are some giving, there will be many taking.
For those few who simply are on hard times, and would work if given the opportunity, to them my hand will always be outstretched, and my heart open. Sometimes encouragement and a little foundation is all they need to blossom. It is true that we should not divide ourselves from them for this very reason.
Very thought provoking write! Keep up the good work. -
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Thanks for the thoughtful comments, and compliments for I do appreciate them
Our businessmen outsource jobs to foriegn countries; commit white collar crimes (banking/savings & loan mortgage scandel) that leave families homeless. They kick people out of apts. just to convert said apts. to condos, which makes more individuals and families homeless. American businessmen, many of them are cold hard hearted individuals who refuse, even when they could, to pay a living wage to their employees. And our modern day politicians persecute the homeless, for no good reason. FDR's statement came from the era of the Great Depression, and my parents lived through the Great Depression, therefore I used it to illustrate the fact that the individuals we see on the street are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to homelessness.
None the less, thanks again for the comments.
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Interesting
Very thought provoking especially for such a short poem. Excellent job, -
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Thank you for your comments on "Tents", for I do appreciate them. I also hope you had an opportunity to click on the URL's (footnotes), which I provided. They do add more depth to this write. Thanks again.
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Thought provoking write. I enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing this piece. Nice write!!!
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Especially grievous to me is the lack of housing for our homeless teens. Once they reach 15 or 16, they are left without provision and care if their parents/family are absent.
It is a tragedy.
This was a very effective poem.
- joanne
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Aye, a tragedy indeed, considering we have so many heartless politicians now a days. They do not have the compassion that is needed to solve the problem of homelessness. After all, there are homeless children; families and even homeless veterans. Instead of solving the problem, politicians merely harass the homeless.
Harassing the homeless ought to be a crime. A fit punishment for these politicians and others who harass the homeless, (in my opinion), if it could be done, would be just make them homeless (without any access to their financial assets) and then they might understand. I hope you had the time to click on the footnotes (URL's) which I provided.
Thank you for your most thoughtful comment.
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Great! Brings to mind the "hobo culture" both my parents remembered. Men would come to their house for a meal, because there was a mark on the curb that one of them had left... even when I was a small child, my mother would take in one of these fellows and give him lunch... we were never "afraid" as people are now. We certainly need "Cities Compassionate" -- this is very well done, and I appreciate your writing it for us to keep in mind...
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Thanks for your thoughtful comments; compliments and applause. I do appreciate them.
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loved it, loved it...thankyou for the wonderful links!
why the divide.??????...they represent our FEARS!
especially at a time...when many of us are just one or
two paychecks attached to our homebase!
ears/Seattle
well done!
loved it!
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Thank you for your thoughtful commets; compliments, and applause. I do appreciate them.
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Oh. This is a nice little poem here.
I agree with your words because I don't understand the reason for the divide either. I guess people are always afraid of things that are different from themselves. That's all I can figure anyways. I thought you did a good job of expressing yourself.
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Thank you for your comments; complements, and smiley's. I do appreciate.
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I enjoy this poem. We have very few transients where I live. The pickings are slim and the winters are too cold. I think one of the things that discourages people from helping is fear, another is documentaries that show that some of the "transients" live tax-free in houses and drive cars. Great job.
Mike
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this starts of nicely
Transient home
Why must we roam?
and ends perfectly, too!
Humans are we
And so are they
Why the divide
I cannot say.
Concise, precise, and to the point - and who could ask fro more! thanks fro sharing it with me! I enjoyed it, Brother!
Love & Peace!
Earl.
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Swtpoetryman
Thanks, for the comment and compliment, I do appreciate both.
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This is cool, not as good as some of yours I've read though. Nice irony in the second lines - as if cities' foundations are ever compassionate...or maybe that's not what you meant.
You should read 'The Songlines' by Bruce Chatwin, it examines nomadic life in different parts of the world, esp. Australia. Very interesting.
A 'Civil War Song' eh? I'd be interested to hear that. I want top learn more about the American civil war.
Anyways, quite a nice poem, certainly a fine sentiment.
K. F.
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Thank you for your comment and compliment. I do appreciate both. To host 'tent cities', for the homeless, a city does need to establish a 'compassionate foundation, to expedite permits and to better recognize the fact that "homelessness" is not, nor should it ever be considered as such, a crime.
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bravo
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Thank you.
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haha cool
=]
i havent read ur poetry in a long time -
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Glad u liked it and welcome back. I always look forward to your unique comments. I rather like them.
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bravo
A fine poem about the sad fact that it has long been a crime in US to be poor....bravo... bravo... bravo...
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Thank you for your comment and compliment. I do appreciate both.
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