Covid-19 and the Homeless

by Devorah Major

i wonder at those
in doorways
under canvas tents
sheltered under cardboard cartons
inside dented cramped cars
their dry coughs echoing
into the night as they shiver
inside their fevered flesh

what does pandemic mean
to the homeless who
we have already
socially distanced

easily averting our gaze
righteously avoiding
getting close enough
to put a dollar into a palm
a smile into shadowed eyes

not seeing
much less acknowledging
that they have lived for years
in a pandemic
of poverty
a pandemic
of hunger
a pandemic
of danger
a pandemic of struggle
with very limited reward

what now of this new virus
pushed down their burning throats
to rest inside their eternally broken hearts