A Life’s Story Picked
A ray of hope.
The story is about,
says the book’s blurb,
a stressful life
in an English suburb.
The events described
are heart-rending;
it’s hard to envisage
a happy ending.
The tale told at length
in a large tome
is reminiscent
of ‘Cathy come home’.
It tells of people
sleeping on pavements,
or else sheltering
in shoddy tenements.
Recounts the level
to which men sank,
starving and relying
on a food bank.
But not all is lost
and there is yet hope
that they’ll survive
and finally cope.
Though it reveals
a tough existence
the book emphasises
their proud resilience.
They don’t succumb
to gloom and doom,
they know life’s a cycle
of bust and boom.
© Luigi Pagano 2016
Bust and more bust, I’m waiting for the boom. Nice poem.
Some people are luckier than others, Jay. You must have drawn the short straw. Keep your hopes up.
Luigi
A look at lifes bleak options Luigi, yet you offer hope through it all. Sometimes hope is all we have to cling to.
Mike
I do sympathise, Mike, and I know that you had your share of misfortune. Hope is indeed what we are left with and the belief that things will get better.
My best wishes, Luigi
I agree with you, Trevor, that books, films or plays with unresolved endings are most unsatisfactory but I don’t always expect a happy resolution. I don’t mind if an anti-hero has the upper hand on the establishment for a change.
Neatly composed social theme, Luigi. Where there’s life there’s hope in this (as you say) boom and bust society.
Cheers.
Thanks, Tony, for reading and commenting.
Best, Luigi
This hits home, Luigi. I was a mental health social worker, and many of the people i worked with wound up homeless and shuffling from institution to homeless shelter, to streets. I had to try to help them no matter where I found them. Get them through ER ‘inquisitions’ and court hearings. Find them something to eat, and shoes to wear. Setting them up and taking them for appointments with doctors in the health and mental fields was the least of it. So, a telling write that matters. I really like the hopeful slant. That, of course, is what we… Read more »
You have my admiration, Bel, for the sterling work that you undertook in dealing and caring for those unfortunate people. If you managed to instil in some the confidence to stand on their own two feet you will have achieved a remarkable feat.
Thanks for letting me know.
Luigi x