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Homeless in Hopetoun Crescent

Dear Neighbours,

I would like to submit the attached poem for possible publication in the Spurtle.

Thanks for your consideration
Tom Leonard
Hopetoun Crescent


THE TRAMPS OF HOPETOUN CRESCENT GARDENS
Thomas Hoskyns Leonard

   Nurtured by the saintly nuns with skimpy gowns, they scatter themselves in morose solitude among the tulips of the once royal gardens, spewing their trash and peeing against the fragrant trees,
   Challenging my much-valued scenic view during my vacuous retirement from the vicissitudes of life.
   They slouch with their heads between their knees, but then rise to bang metal sinks against the bark and to yelp like alkies into the shadows of the night.
   Where are my long-lost humanity and my fractured dreams? Tomorrow, I will bounce off my bright blue sofa, become part of their ragged reality, and live once again.