When homelessness lurked on the Horizon

May 22, 2021 

Recalcitrant mailer daemons wailed like banshees
roost upon sacred cerebral hemispheres
fancy feast beyond flesh jawboning,
rabidly tearing satiation point
rule the roost wrought havoc within psyche
ominous anguish asphyxiated, choked,
and strangled means to gasp for air
snatches of gulped oxygen barely eluded death
cruel damn fate pitched thyself and spouse
into the galley maw free...

He hadn't showered in over a week. 
Slowly his mind drifted in and out of the scene. 
The cold would soon be over for the long winter season.
Finally, his hands and feet would warm.

He choked on what he thought was a day-old donut.

“Yuck,” he yelled as he spits out the soured 
concoction. 

He had been homeless for over three years. 
With no family to contact. 
Addiction loomed. 
He felt alone and hopeless. 

“I can help you,” the woman said. 
She reached out her hand to help him. 

He turned away quickly and screamed at her to leave him alone. 

A sigh of relief breathed just in time escape from homelessness when fate delivered salvation couched as divine intercession courtesy Jackie Geiger. She constitutes significant figurative leg of management support here at Highland Manor apartment located within bucolic Schwenksville, Pennsylvania. Our collaborative effort to craft a poet dealing with grinding poverty and attendant homelessness best predicated upon an anonymous persona experiencing such duress.

How appealing if alluded, conjured, encapsulated... individual(s) or perhaps even a married dirt poor couple served as the template. Perhaps one or both people could also be afflicted with significant substance abuse addiction plus mental health issue. He/she of course would lack health insurance to boot.

Accentuation of such pitiful plight (think indigent character(s) ideally be cast adrift as some human flotsam and jetsam) within blighted urban violence riddled borough. One (meaning we) need not experience the depredations of homelessness to recognize the horror housing (no pun intended) such cruel fate, but just curious (like George) if you ever experienced being homeless.

The sun rose with a hint of orange and pink stretched crossed the sky. 
A woman and two young boys rose up in the car they were living in. 
Another parking ticket was placed underneath the windshield wiper. 
Soon a tow truck would come and pull her car away. Her home. 

After the kids are dropped off at school, the mother goes into the bathroom to clean up. 
She filled out employment applications, made appointments and she prayed. 
She drove around the entire day going into stores with help wanted signs posted. 
While back by 2:15 pm, she had to wipe the tears. 

Knowing it was getting colder outside, for her two young sons. 
She had been homeless for less than six months, but it sure felt like years. 

Shiny new cars, children dressed well, smiling faces everywhere. 
Envious eyes open and shut, peering in all directions, hoping to spot a rainbow. 
When the children were released from school one day, they handed their mom a note. 

Dear Ms. Sparks, it has come to my attention your family is homeless. I have a rented home just a few miles away. You can move in tonight.  All the best, Mrs. Cathy

“There are an estimated 553,742 people in the United States experiencing homelessness on a given night,” (1). In the state of Ohio, there are, “10,345 people experiencing homelessness,” (2). In the great state of Pennsylvania, there is an estimated, “13,199,"(3) people who are homelessness on any one given night. 

United States economic recovery
post coronavirus pandemic
incorporates fearful tenants
to experience lucky break
in tandem with stimulus checks translates
to alleviate joblessness heartache
societal reverberations triggered
by said catastrophe for decades
ever after will quake.  

Credit checks and income-based requirements
lesson a person’s ability to find a place to live 
within their narrow budgets. 
Lack of resources for the homeless 
contribute to escalating the situation. 

Some possible causes of 
homelessness is: 

Loss of employment 
Criminal Record 
Mental illness 
Drug addiction 
Lack of educational skills 
Lack of employable skills 
Physical Disabilities 
Illness in Family/Children
Transportation Issues 
Childcare 
Access to Healthcare

There is an increased number of homeless
woman who has reported being attacked
and raped. Some have been murdered. 

Places like, The Housing Alliance and 
The Housing Coalition has helped thousands
of homeless men, women, and children. 
They continue making progress to end homelessness. 

“Nearly half of all Americans sleeping on the streets live in California. “Almost half (47 percent) of all unsheltered homeless people in the United States are found in California, (4). 

Online References 

(1). The State of Homelessness https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-report-legacy/#:~:text=There%20are%20an%20estimated%20553%2C742,people%20in%20the%20general%20population. in America - National Alliance to End Homelessness
Accessed: May 18, 2021

(2). State of Homelessness: 2020 Edition - National Allianhttps://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness 2020/?gclid=CjwKCAjwy42FBhB2EiwAJY0yQsFsrOXhsYaUeemR68f1LQrWI9DoRSHWIDia7bpOV6Z0e4zvg5dP_xoC4JcQAvD_BwEce to End Homelessness
Accessed: May 18, 2021

(3). State of Homelessness: 2020 Edition - National Alliance to End Homelessness
https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-2020/?gclid=CjwKCAjwy42FBhB2EiwAJY0yQsFsrOXhsYaUeemR68f1LQrWI9DoRSHWIDia7bpOV6Z0e4zvg5dP_xoC4JcQAvD_BwE
Accessed: May 18, 2021

(4). 10 facts about homelessness in America – Acton Institute PowerBlog
https://blog.acton.org/archives/111777-10-facts-about-homelessness-in-america.html?utm_term=us 
Accessed May 20, 2021 

(5). IMAGE FREE STOCK PHOTO 
100+ Homeless Pictures [HQ] | Download Free Images on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/s/photos/homeless
Accessed May 20, 2021 

Matthew Scott Harris & Katina Woodruff Borgersen have penned three poems together. 
Check them out on Cosmofunnel today! 

Winter Poets: Ohio to Pennsylvania - Poem by Katina Woodruff Borgersen (cosmofunnel.com)
https://cosmofunnel.com/poems/winter-poets-ohio-to-pennsylvania-178348

Brain on Fire! - Poem by Katina Woodruff Borgersen (cosmofunnel.com)
https://cosmofunnel.com/poems/brain-on-fire-192357

Would the real “Matthew scott harris” please stand up!? Story by matthew harris (cosmofunnel.com)
https://cosmofunnel.com/stories/would-the-real-matthew-scott-harris-please-stand-up-181832