Poem: "Homeless, Tenantless"
This poem came from the March 5, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Shirley Barrette. Yes, it's true that empty houses greatly outnumber homeless people.
Homeless, Tenantless
All homes are houses
but not all houses are homes.
There are over five empty houses
for each person who lacks a place to live.
America is becoming a nation
of homeless people and tenantless houses.
They look through the windows at each other,
yearning for what they are told they cannot have.
It is considered more important to protect
the wealth of the few than the well-being of the many.
Every man for himself, chant the headlines,
while the Devil takes the hindmost one by one by one.