8 Must-Read Poems about Homelessness

Poems about homelessness shed light on the harsh realities individuals face without a place to call home. They explore the experiences of marginalized, displaced, or living on the streets.

These poems aim to raise awareness and compassionately depict homelessness’s struggles, hardships, and vulnerability. They may delve into themes of poverty, inequality, social injustice, and the human capacity for resilience.

Poems about homelessness often challenge societal norms, provoke reflection on our responsibilities towards the less fortunate, and emphasize the importance of empathy and compassion.

They give voice to the often overlooked individuals affected by homelessness, fostering a deeper understanding of their plight and inspiring action toward positive change.

Poems about Homelessness Visual Representation

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Parrot

by Stevie Smith

Stevie Smith’s ‘Parrot’ is a moving exploration of a parrot’s imprisonment and suffering set against the backdrop of the modern urban world.

The parrot, confined to the grim urban landscape, experiences profound suffering and despair. This uprootedness is deeply painful, as the parrot's natural home is integral to its autonomy and well-being, like humans. The lines 'Far from his jungle green / Over the seas he came / To the yellow skies, to the dripping rain, / To the night of his despair' illustrate the parrot's displacement and ensuing misery. The parrot's homelessness presents the physical and psychological torment of other species when they are forcibly kept away from their natural habitat.

The old sick green parrot

High in a dingy cage

Sick with malevolent rage

Beadily glutted his furious eye

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Go to Ahmedabad

by Sujata Bhatt

‘Go to Ahmedabad’ shows the psychological struggle of an immigrant dealing with disturbing past events and contemporary issues with newly developed views.

The feeling of homelessness troubles the speaker as she simultaneously feels alienation and belongingness to two countries. The speaker, having developed some distance from her native land, suffers when she can't feel "at home" in the country she chooses to live in, leading to a sense of homelessness and identity crisis. The poet hints at the idea of fluid homes as the speaker accepts her in-between position as an empowering space towards the poem's end.

Go walk the streets of Baroda,

go to Ahmedabad

and step around the cow dung

but don’t forget to look at the sky.

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From My Window

by C. K. Williams

‘From My Window’ by C.K. Williams is a memorable poem about human suffering. It contrasts the difficulties two homeless men face with the speaker’s relative safety behind the glass of his window.

The poem focuses on the homeless men and their difficult lives. They have no place to call home and must survive on the streets. The speaker observes their daily battles and feels their pain. This theme makes us think about the issue of homelessness and its impact on people's lives. It shows the harsh reality that many people face.

Spring: the first morning when that one true block of sweet, laminar,

complex scent arrives

from somewhere west and I keep coming to lean on the sill, glorying in

the end of the wretched winter.

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The Little Girl Lost

by William Blake

‘The Little Girl Lost’ by William Blake weaves innocence, nature’s guardians, and divine intervention into a tapestry of protection and transformation.

'The Little Girl Lost' explores the topic of homelessness through Lovely Lyca's wandering in the desert. The desolate landscape symbolizes a state of displacement, portraying the vulnerability of being lost and without a home. The poem explores the challenges and dangers associated with homelessness, highlighting the longing for solace and protection in the midst of a harsh environment.

In futurity

I prophesy

That the earth from sleep

(Grave the sentence deep)

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The Complaints of the Poor

by Robert Southey

‘The Complaints of the Poor’ by Robert Southey takes place in a city, likely London, and describes the desperate measures poverty drives people to.

The characters the two travelers meet in this poem are homeless or seem like they may soon become homeless.

And wherefore do the Poor complain?

The rich man asked of me,—

Come walk abroad with me, I said

And I will answer thee.

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Money Madness

by D.H. Lawrence

In ‘Money Madness,’ D.H. Lawrence shows how society’s obsession with money creates fear and unfairness. He urges us to provide food, shelter, and warmth for everyone, instead of letting money control us.

Lawrence addresses the issue of homelessness in the poem. He shows concern for those who lack basic needs like shelter. The poem highlights how society often neglects and mistreats the homeless. Lawrence believes everyone should have access to essential resources. He calls for more compassion and support for those in need.

But it is not money we are so terrified of,

it is the collective money-madness of mankind.

For mankind says with one voice: How much is he worth?

Has he no money? Then let him eat dirt, and go cold.–

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On A Journey

by Hermann Hesse

‘On A Journey’ by Hermann Hesse is a poem that seeks to provide both comfort and solace to those who find themselves demoralized by life’s journeys.

Many of the poems by Hermann Hesse that appear in the same collection as this one reckon with themes of isolation and alienation from others. This is, without a doubt, one of the more optimistic and attempts to offer consolation in the form of empathy and hope. It's a poem that urges one to see through whatever journey they've embarked on, be it one of ambitious dreams or simply life's everyday toils.

Don't be downcast, soon the night will come,

When we can see the cool moon laughing in secret

Over the faint countryside,

And we rest, hand in hand.

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There came a Wind like a Bugle

by Emily Dickinson

‘There came a Wind like a Bugle –’ by Emily Dickinson depicts the incredible power of the natural world. She describes a day when a storm nearly destroyed a series of homes.

There came a wind like a bugle;

It quivered through the grass,

And a green chill upon the heat

So ominous did pass

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8 Must-Read Poems about Homelessness

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8 Must-Read Poems about Homelessness

by Stevie Smith

by Sujata Bhatt

by C. K. Williams

by William Blake

by Robert Southey

by D.H. Lawrence

by Hermann Hesse

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