Poems about Poverty
#poverty
Poems about poverty, here you'll find poetry about poverty, debt and hardship. Poems about struggling to survive due to lack of money. Poems about personal hardship and poetry about inequality in society, and life in slums and ghettos.
Alviola
Poem Published
Today 10:15am
Today 10:15am
That we be like dogs
She leaps into the car, her tail
electrified, the window rolled
down so she can poke her head out,
savor the town's fragrances,
a cornucopia of scents, a rush
she cannot know roaming nearby.
What if parents told children to
poke their heads out of car windows?
have their feet find asphalt nearer
homes of the unshod, to prowl
past broken doors, to know the clatter
of empty feeding bowls, to hear,
not just the screech of classroom chairs
on vinyl floors and the howl of audiences
in ball games and school dances,
but...
electrified, the window rolled
down so she can poke her head out,
savor the town's fragrances,
a cornucopia of scents, a rush
she cannot know roaming nearby.
What if parents told children to
poke their heads out of car windows?
have their feet find asphalt nearer
homes of the unshod, to prowl
past broken doors, to know the clatter
of empty feeding bowls, to hear,
not just the screech of classroom chairs
on vinyl floors and the howl of audiences
in ball games and school dances,
but...
#school
#inequality
#poverty #apathy
#poverty #apathy
16 reads
2 Comments
cabcool
Poem Published
26th Nov 2023 9:32pm
26th Nov 2023 9:32pm
graves and bridges
the virtues of disinterested benevolence
“If you want to be a bridge of hope to the world, you’ve got
to allow yourself to be walked on.”—Tommy Barnett
where graves proliferate,
no bonafide
friend may commiserate
with amplified
disdain, to change a world
of indigents,
across life's curtain hurled
like accidents.
let's bridges build, instead,
to span the gap
between the starved and fed;
unite the map
between haves and have-nots.
let ebony
and ivory no blots
cast on the sea.
a...
“If you want to be a bridge of hope to the world, you’ve got
to allow yourself to be walked on.”—Tommy Barnett
where graves proliferate,
no bonafide
friend may commiserate
with amplified
disdain, to change a world
of indigents,
across life's curtain hurled
like accidents.
let's bridges build, instead,
to span the gap
between the starved and fed;
unite the map
between haves and have-nots.
let ebony
and ivory no blots
cast on the sea.
a...
#kindness
#support
#graveyard
#poverty
#apathy
37 reads
0 Comments
Alviola
Poem Published
25th Nov 2023 2:15am
25th Nov 2023 2:15am
You think what you don't see won't hurt you
She is twitchy, her skin trembling,
she leans back with head raised, eyes wide,
nostrils flared, shifting her weight from
one leg to the other, she paws the ground
Horses are a nervous lot, what she
does not understand, she sees
as dangerous, so blinders are worn
so she can only see what is ahead:
Children grimy, wordless with empty
bowls and eyes that scream, she sees
the corrupt man cross the road, but
these, that man, she has seen before
But...
she leans back with head raised, eyes wide,
nostrils flared, shifting her weight from
one leg to the other, she paws the ground
Horses are a nervous lot, what she
does not understand, she sees
as dangerous, so blinders are worn
so she can only see what is ahead:
Children grimy, wordless with empty
bowls and eyes that scream, she sees
the corrupt man cross the road, but
these, that man, she has seen before
But...
#corruption
#HumanRights
#inequality #poverty
#inequality #poverty
41 reads
2 Comments
GreaterPeril
Poem Published
9th Nov 2023 11:51pm
9th Nov 2023 11:51pm
game show idea
mr executive
do I have the idea for you
the plan
behind the scenes at least
is to see how much slime the average man or woman would swim through
how many crickets they would eat
to win the least amount of common goods
so that way
at the season finale
you could watch
white hot euphoria
flash over a girl's
bruised and battered face
while her bloodied knuckles grasp
in utterly human triumph
a single, small
raw chicken leg
do I have the idea for you
the plan
behind the scenes at least
is to see how much slime the average man or woman would swim through
how many crickets they would eat
to win the least amount of common goods
so that way
at the season finale
you could watch
white hot euphoria
flash over a girl's
bruised and battered face
while her bloodied knuckles grasp
in utterly human triumph
a single, small
raw chicken leg
#money
#consumerism
#poverty
36 reads
0 Comments
missjem56
Poem Published
6th Nov 2023 4:38pm
6th Nov 2023 4:38pm
A Multitude Of Curses
In the last few years
Of withering tears
We experienced Brexit
And the fragmentation, that came with it
Then the Pandemic, full forsworn
As we all became forcibly withdrawn
Then the war in the Ukraine
With the fear of nuclear intervention again
And the obvious worries, and realistic fears
As the worst of climate change nears
Along with the subsequent massive price rises
That has left black holes, and unwanted surprises
In now empty purses
And a multitude of curses
by Jemia
Of withering tears
We experienced Brexit
And the fragmentation, that came with it
Then the Pandemic, full forsworn
As we all became forcibly withdrawn
Then the war in the Ukraine
With the fear of nuclear intervention again
And the obvious worries, and realistic fears
As the worst of climate change nears
Along with the subsequent massive price rises
That has left black holes, and unwanted surprises
In now empty purses
And a multitude of curses
by Jemia
#war
#pollution
#LifeChangingMoment
#poverty
#pandemic
25 reads
0 Comments
wolfatthedoor1966
Poem Published
3rd Nov 2023 8:41am
3rd Nov 2023 8:41am
homeless (all too real)
the homeless
gathered around
the barrel,
in its veins,
fire
blazing to life,
the men, women,
from
poorly constructed
makeshift homes
stood
close by the heat,
the smell
of wood smoke
rising above
their hopes,
that little
heat
tried to turn
the tide
on a bitter
cold morning,
the little
girl moved
closer
to her mother,
wanting to warm
her cold hands.
gathered around
the barrel,
in its veins,
fire
blazing to life,
the men, women,
from
poorly constructed
makeshift homes
stood
close by the heat,
the smell
of wood smoke
rising above
their hopes,
that little
heat
tried to turn
the tide
on a bitter
cold morning,
the little
girl moved
closer
to her mother,
wanting to warm
her cold hands.
#tragedy
#HumanRights
#suffering
#poverty
#responsibility
61 reads
9 Comments
LongTubiFree
Poem Published
1st Nov 2023 9:41pm
1st Nov 2023 9:41pm
Political gain
I see you, single mother, I see your pain,
but you cannot provide political gain.
I see you, young black man, I see your grief,
but political gain is my only belief.
I see you, thousand of homeless vets
but political gain is the war I don't regret.
Huddled masses, passing by, crying out
but Washington is the only thing I care about.
I need the powerful to love me,
otherwise, everyone will remain above me.
Secrets I know but I will never share,
the powerful and wealthy are what I desire
the need for their nods of approval is unfair ...
but you cannot provide political gain.
I see you, young black man, I see your grief,
but political gain is my only belief.
I see you, thousand of homeless vets
but political gain is the war I don't regret.
Huddled masses, passing by, crying out
but Washington is the only thing I care about.
I need the powerful to love me,
otherwise, everyone will remain above me.
Secrets I know but I will never share,
the powerful and wealthy are what I desire
the need for their nods of approval is unfair ...
#corruption
#politics
#homelessness
#greed
#poverty
90 reads
4 Comments
Indie
Miss Indie
Miss Indie
Poem Published
28th Oct 2023 2:01am
28th Oct 2023 2:01am
just a white walled house
This house is not a home
it's just bare white rental walls
we're not approved to decorate
We don't own anything nice
sleep on mattresses on the floor
and you somehow think that's normal
living so cheaply we wake up in pain
I'm tired of bare walls
and second hand furniture
that was already old when we got it
I've lost count of the tip runs
we've done this year
because things break
or no longer work as intended
We could have saved money
owning better things
but you hold our...
it's just bare white rental walls
we're not approved to decorate
We don't own anything nice
sleep on mattresses on the floor
and you somehow think that's normal
living so cheaply we wake up in pain
I'm tired of bare walls
and second hand furniture
that was already old when we got it
I've lost count of the tip runs
we've done this year
because things break
or no longer work as intended
We could have saved money
owning better things
but you hold our...
#depression
#home
#poverty
137 reads
6 Comments
Seed
Poem Published
13th Oct 2023 2:14am
13th Oct 2023 2:14am
Southern Accent
When she opens her mouth to speak
she goes from zero right to cornbread.
She unintentionally stresses the long "I" in words,
like "right" "night" and "Sprite".
Her southern accent sounds like
she should be barefoot and pregnant,
with a tow-head knee baby and a
dirty-faced lap baby,
living out past the suburbs in an
unincorporated part of the county,
like she lives in a beat up single-wide
house-trailer that has well water and
a screen door that never closes all the way,
and a junk car up...
she goes from zero right to cornbread.
She unintentionally stresses the long "I" in words,
like "right" "night" and "Sprite".
Her southern accent sounds like
she should be barefoot and pregnant,
with a tow-head knee baby and a
dirty-faced lap baby,
living out past the suburbs in an
unincorporated part of the county,
like she lives in a beat up single-wide
house-trailer that has well water and
a screen door that never closes all the way,
and a junk car up...
#identity
#LifeStruggles
#poverty #tradition
#poverty #tradition
45 reads
0 Comments
Carpe_Noctem
Poem Published
28th Sep 2023 6:31pm
28th Sep 2023 6:31pm
Singing is easy when ya drinking
This rain cares not for teardrops
Nor the blood soaked Eire of Irish rebel song(s)
White niggers
Black n tan
Slavery never left
Every race
Knows the thunders roar
Beneath the overlords lash
Ask the indentured servants
Seven year olds
Sweeping chimney
Down claustrophobic mine shaft
Nor the blood soaked Eire of Irish rebel song(s)
White niggers
Black n tan
Slavery never left
Every race
Knows the thunders roar
Beneath the overlords lash
Ask the indentured servants
Seven year olds
Sweeping chimney
Down claustrophobic mine shaft
#corruption
#greed
#Britain #poverty
#Britain #poverty
65 reads
2 Comments
cabcool
Poem Published
24th Sep 2023 3:35am
24th Sep 2023 3:35am
the poor man's wealth
"The rich man's wealth is in the city….The poor man's wealth
is in a holy, holy place."―Peter Tosh (after Prov. 10:15)
the bite of poverty consumes the poor
who, in his lowliness, must still endure
the hunger of the world to feed his flesh
to vultures. everyday, his pain comes fresh,
his barrenness to harvest, like a crop,
where scarcely do the dews of heaven drop.
...
is in a holy, holy place."―Peter Tosh (after Prov. 10:15)
the bite of poverty consumes the poor
who, in his lowliness, must still endure
the hunger of the world to feed his flesh
to vultures. everyday, his pain comes fresh,
his barrenness to harvest, like a crop,
where scarcely do the dews of heaven drop.
...
#HumanRights
#greed
#inequality #poverty
#inequality #poverty
78 reads
0 Comments
cabcool
Poem Published
22nd Sep 2023 3:55am
22nd Sep 2023 3:55am
incredible rain: a pentaprismic suite
of floods and famines, flaws and fools
3. famines
inedible grain
gleaned from wild seeds of poison ivy fields
to none slightest gain
because its harvest-time brings useless yields
as cavalier lives
bent not by high ideals or gainful thrust
when crop time arrives
must be content to gather up the dust
© Copyright 2023 September 18
by Clyve A. Bowen♫
3. famines
inedible grain
gleaned from wild seeds of poison ivy fields
to none slightest gain
because its harvest-time brings useless yields
as cavalier lives
bent not by high ideals or gainful thrust
when crop time arrives
must be content to gather up the dust
© Copyright 2023 September 18
by Clyve A. Bowen♫
#food
#greed
#inequality #poverty
#inequality #poverty
132 reads
2 Comments
DU Poetry : Poems about Poverty
