Tunnel People Poem by Walterrean Salley

Folks live in those tunnels
‘Neath the city of New York.
Down on their luck
No means and no work.

In tough circumstances
Life’s been unkind,
Thoughtlessly leaving
The vagrant behind.

Settling-in at night,
And wandering by day,
The tunnels are a place
For the homeless to stay.

The meager scantiness
Of this world’s goods
You’ll readily find
In the homeless hood.

Unkemptly tucked away
Deep down and dark
With no flower garden
Nor song of the lark.

Only filth and squalor
Where rats do play,
And spiders hangout
Along the way.

Wet. Dangerous. Dark.
No light from the sun.
Yet home to the homeless
When the day is done.

©2012