Life In Slums Poem by John Sensele

Parents for no reason abandon a son
Who at no time applied to swell ranks of vulnerable
Children roaming city streets with no secure shelter under the sun
To eke out a Spartan existence that's not enviable.

Children elect to reject labels lumbered on street kids
Without their consent, labels reeking of shame, neglect and stigma
That push orphans and vulnerable children like crows to scrounge for feeds
Crumbs and leftovers that under normal circumstances are anathema.

Children treated with scorn and disdain run away from
Their parents' abode where they perceive misuse and receive abuse
Contending with misery, deprivation and starvation often in a home
That's a den in which survival of the fittest is the ruse of choice.

Fed up with ill-treatment in congested huts
Children weigh options and swing the pendulum
In favour of the cut throat, brutal brawls of street life where their butts
Are bludgeoned but on balance life in open air surpasses life in their slum.