Poverty Awareness in York Region

Submitted Poem read at Oct 17 Fairy Lake Park Newmarket

In despair we walk our heads downcast,
The world walks by and looks away,
May help if they see us not, we'll go away,
In this way they feel no remorse nor any need to help,

They do not know our pain or despair,
Nor do they feel compelled to share,
So on we go each weary day, not knowing if we'll eat today,
The lack of food is not our only plague,
For many are without a home, thus in a cardboard box we sleep alone,

Our clothes are torn and worn threadbare,
And the affluent around us still don't care,
In a world of plenty and so much excess,
We, the hungry, are the world's dispossessed,

The poor they say are with us always,
But being poor is not our greatest bane,
It's an empty stomach and hunger that causes pain,
We see that others waste so much,
They seem not to care that we could give thanks for just a crust,

Hunger knows no boundaries,
It knows no creed or race,
And the only food we'll eat today,
Is from your money and good grace,

And so my friends search your hearts
and feel our pain and despair,
Then into your pockets dig deep,
Then we the hungry you will feed.

by Christos Hambides