Things to Do in Moreland – by Paul South
Buy umbrella from thrift shop.
Buy backpack from thrift shop.
Pick up dead pigeon.
Bury under the tree in Safeway car park.
Get egged by a car full of teenagers.
Write a poem about getting egged
by a car full of teenagers.
Eat an over-ripe banana.
Stare at old Italian men staring at you.
Tell beggar you have no money.
Get dinged by a tram.
Meet Andy and bitch about poets.
Go to Brunswick Hotel
and watch people get drunk.
Go to falafel joint at midnight
and pack colon.
See Sydney Rd glazed in the wet.
Punch self in head
just to feel something.
Clod along Merri Creek.
Piss behind the Willow tree.
Sniff fingers and look at the stars.
***
There is Still Hope – by Sue Tan
The community cafe is full of different homeless people.
They come here for free food and free drinks
and free sleeping at night from 11pm to 6am.
Many are wounded in different ways.
They resort to cigarettes, alcohol, gambling or drugs to avoid their problems.
They were rejected by family members.
They tend to speak foul words and get easily irritated.
Sometimes quarrels and fighting occur,
but the staff are quick to take action to settle.
People may see them as hopeless,
but I see the image of God embedded in them.
They are all wonderfully made for a specific purpose.
Unfortunately some unexpected things happened in their lives:
relationship breakdown, unemployment, mental health problems, many other reasons.
They need some personal space for healing.
Some are already in the process of seeking new life,
and some are still struggling for a new opportunity.
We wish the best for them, because we still have hope.
***
Yorkshire Winter – by Roderick Waller
Jack, good black dog
Down cow lane
And me with thick socks
Kicking leaves and twigs.
Then turning in time
We ran laughing home
To lay by the fireside
In from the cold.
***