by Holly Haskins
(The author read this poem at the Right to Rest hearing)
(The author read this poem at the Right to Rest hearing)
Saturday night I go to E-shelter.
All I want is to sleep.
5pm file in line,
Maybe it’s raining, cold or just fine.
6pm we’re in, finally dinner time.
7pm we’re on the bus, the whole process a huge fuss.
They ship me out of town to Holy Rosary on I-70.
8pm we’re settling in.
I don’t know the names of any of these women.
70 mats on the ground. I go ahead and lay down.
9pm lights out. No more cigarettes.
70 voices silenced, not another word, go to bed.
I’m in need of a home, I’m not a little kid.
I’m not 10 but these rules make me feel like I am.
10pm I cannot sleep. The lady on my right talking in her sleep.
The woman on my left smells overwhelmingly of dumpster and dead body.
My head is here, under another’s unmaintained feet..
My soul feels empty.
11pm I fall asleep. 4am lights on comes early.
I arise to women who are angry.
They are verbally abusive to each other, sometimes they threaten me.
They hate this life, therefore they hate each other, this includes me.
30 women standing in a line, trying to get in one bathroom to pee.
There are no shower facilities.
Sometime between 5 and 6am they return me to town, to my resources.
I am free again.
I just spent 13 hours getting 5 hours of sleep.
I head to Civic Center Park to try to get some sleep.
Sunday night and tomorrow I work.
Minimum wage day labor starts at 3:45.
Being shipped out of town to E-shelter is not an option for me tonight.
I find a group of trusty street friends and the migration begins,
Across town to find a good hiding spot to lay down.
8:30pm near work we hit the hay.
12:30am a spotlight in my face.
A cop telling me I have to go away.
Move along to where? is all I can say.
I wasn’t bothering anybody. Officer why did you wake me?
He admits he’s only doing his job.
He’s not bothered by my trying to sleep.
He’s a man that understands.
He offers a ride to E-shelter but I can’t.
I need to work to pay child support.
1am I cannot sleep,
Worried another cop will find us, find me.
What if the next cop is not so understanding?
My street friends console me.
We are a family born from poverty.
They understand all we want is to sleep.
3:45 am, time for work.
I’ve lived outside for two years.
Waking up under the stars is preferred by me.
I wake up next to family.
They protect me from everything but the cops when I sleep.
I roll my sleeping bag up.
My soul does not feel empty.
All I want is to sleep.
5pm file in line,
Maybe it’s raining, cold or just fine.
6pm we’re in, finally dinner time.
7pm we’re on the bus, the whole process a huge fuss.
They ship me out of town to Holy Rosary on I-70.
8pm we’re settling in.
I don’t know the names of any of these women.
70 mats on the ground. I go ahead and lay down.
9pm lights out. No more cigarettes.
70 voices silenced, not another word, go to bed.
I’m in need of a home, I’m not a little kid.
I’m not 10 but these rules make me feel like I am.
10pm I cannot sleep. The lady on my right talking in her sleep.
The woman on my left smells overwhelmingly of dumpster and dead body.
My head is here, under another’s unmaintained feet..
My soul feels empty.
11pm I fall asleep. 4am lights on comes early.
I arise to women who are angry.
They are verbally abusive to each other, sometimes they threaten me.
They hate this life, therefore they hate each other, this includes me.
30 women standing in a line, trying to get in one bathroom to pee.
There are no shower facilities.
Sometime between 5 and 6am they return me to town, to my resources.
I am free again.
I just spent 13 hours getting 5 hours of sleep.
I head to Civic Center Park to try to get some sleep.
Sunday night and tomorrow I work.
Minimum wage day labor starts at 3:45.
Being shipped out of town to E-shelter is not an option for me tonight.
I find a group of trusty street friends and the migration begins,
Across town to find a good hiding spot to lay down.
8:30pm near work we hit the hay.
12:30am a spotlight in my face.
A cop telling me I have to go away.
Move along to where? is all I can say.
I wasn’t bothering anybody. Officer why did you wake me?
He admits he’s only doing his job.
He’s not bothered by my trying to sleep.
He’s a man that understands.
He offers a ride to E-shelter but I can’t.
I need to work to pay child support.
1am I cannot sleep,
Worried another cop will find us, find me.
What if the next cop is not so understanding?
My street friends console me.
We are a family born from poverty.
They understand all we want is to sleep.
3:45 am, time for work.
I’ve lived outside for two years.
Waking up under the stars is preferred by me.
I wake up next to family.
They protect me from everything but the cops when I sleep.
I roll my sleeping bag up.
My soul does not feel empty.
RSS Feed
