last year this time
sleeping out there
he was so cold he dreamed
he’d spontaneously combusted
at 4am
jumped up in flame
and walked around the rest of the night
to keep from freezing he said
*
the kids are trying to hide
from the cold
in doorways and down
in the station
and hold onto their bedding
the cops keep taking from them
they’re organizing
late online
*
what is new and arising
shoots its flame
thru the broken places
~Sarah Menefee
the homeless kids of OccupySF
San Francisco poet and organizer Sarah Menefee is a long-time homeless rights activist. She is the Homeless Desk on the People’s Tribune Editorial Board, and a founding member of such organizations as the San Francisco Union of the Homeless, Homes Not Jails and 'First they came for the homeless’. Known for her poetry about the streets, her latest collections are Winter Rose, Sign and Holy Eel.
