Poverty

These are some Poems about Poverty and the dreadful conditions that engulf billions of our fellow human beings.







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Poems about Poverty
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"Poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome by the action of human beings."
This was the observation and warning of Nelson Mandella.

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The gnawing pain in my gut goes on
It feels like a cut with a knife;
I have never felt a pain like this
Never before in my life.

The pain in my heart hurts twice as much
As I watch my children starve;
They are fading away by the hour
They now only weigh about a half.

Is it my fault the rains didn't come
To make my crop grow well;
We planted the seeds and hoed the ground
We're surrounded by death and it smells.

I would do whatever it takes
To get our lives back on track;
So please help to do just that
And I will pay you back.

We want the support of companies
As charities are in the short term;
We need to be able to fend for ourselves
Regain our pride and manhood-give us our turn.
Maggiemay

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Rent behind again
No gas in my tank
Support in arrears
Loss of work to thank;
Charity med care
Insurance near due
No money for meds
Hole in my damn shoe;
Phone’s getting shut off
Calls from collection
Food from damaged cans
Time for reflection;
Complained about my tattered clothes
‘til I met a man burnt in a fire
Complained about my meager ration
‘til I viewed the image of a starving child;
Complained about the cost of war
‘til I saw the violence the victims bore
Complained that my stiff back was sore
‘til a child wheeled by was seen to suffer more;
Complained about my loss of face
‘til I met a human from a slaughtered race
Complained about my lack of choice
‘til I met enslaved without a voice;
Complained about my excess weight
Then I met a man who rarely ate
I took my food and filled his plate
I’m slimmer now and feeling great!
 Gerry Gilligan

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Poems about Poverty
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Poverty shows it's face in many guises
It all depends on where you live;
Our poorest would seem in certain cases
To others that they thrive.

It's what we're used to and what's around
Our streets cost a lot of money;
They are cold and harsh on our feet
No plants, no bees and no honey!
Maggiemay

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Penury provides no privelege
He sat there in the midst of the crowd
Towel wrapped like turban on his heavy head.
His sunken eyes, bordered with tears
Exposed the throb in his heart.

His wreckled face spoke of years of penury.
His folded hands spelt tales of slavery;
He was too pre occupied with burdens that were sealed
within the folds of the turban; his voice choked.

Their debts cannot be repaid - staying home,
Away from the clutches of the kiln mafia,
Who paid them a cent a thousand bricks – work all day;
At sundown their women they spared for the nights;
An extra two cents a night, meant three meals a day.

They lived half their lives in alien soil;
Too little to lose and naught to gain;
When pangs of hunger cramped their stomach,
They could afford no shame, no pride, no pain.

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The poor are burdens for humanity
The poor have no security;
They can't live in freedom
They that have no kingdom

But to be poor is not a crime
Nobody asked God to make him poor;
But poverty knocks at many doors
Even a rich man may fall victim.

Women love a rich man
There is no pity for the poor;
Wealth is in the towns
But the poor are the ones who fall down.

My child is very ill
I don't want to steal no more;
I don't have any money
I have a safe journey
But to be poor is not a crime
I am still hopeful

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The middle class to the wealthy they only represent
In a Land where far too many are homeless without even a tent

For to shelter from the cold and wind and rain
From the poverty of others far too many stand to gain.

The one we chose as our leader is so far from great
Though each day more millionaires he does create

For each new millionaire more are in poverty
Our sort of leaders we deserve it seems to me.

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Poems about Poverty
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Poverty

I saw an old cottage of clay,
And only of mud was the floor;
It was all falling into decay,
And the snow drifted in at the door.

Yet there a poor family dwelt,
In a hovel so dismal and rude;
And though gnawing hunger they felt,
They had not a morsel of food.

The children were crying for bread,
And to their poor mother they’d run;
‘Oh, give us some breakfast,’ they said,
Alas! their poor mother had none.

She viewed them with looks of despair,
She said (and I’m sure it was true),
‘’Tis not for myself that I care,
But, my poor little children, for you.’

O then, let the wealthy and gay
But see such a hovel as this,
That in a poor cottage of clay
They may know what true misery is.
And what I may have to bestow
I never will squander away,
While many poor people I know
Around me are wretched as they.
Jane Taylor

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Go to Poems about Journeys

Poems about Poverty

Hunger and poverty are closely linked,
And are always moving hand in hand-
From the dawn of civilization till today,
Along each crevice of this global land!
Hunger perpetrates poverty by preventing people
From realizing their potential power-
And slows down the progress of their societies
Ruled by the elite from the ivory tower!

Taken from Hunger & Poverty-A Universal Shame by Hillol Ray

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There are those who'd say
That poverty is to be without love;
An empty soul devoid of life
Missing out from the God above.
Maggiemay