Fire and blood
The walls remember fists, not prayers,
Screams drip down the council stairs.
Mothers hide bruises with supermarket wine,
Kids bite coins to pretend they’re fine.
Debt collectors rattle the broken door,
Red letters breed across the floor.
Benefits gone, cupboards bare,
We learned young that no one cares.
He drank the rent, then broke her teeth,
Apologies whispered through blood beneath.
Men in suits turned their gaze away,
While children vanished in broad daylight grey.
Addicts carve peace with a rusted spoon,
Sharing veins in the stench of the room.
Boys sell powder on piss-stained blocks,
Wearing crowns of glass and stolen clocks.
The preacher shouts of God on high,
While his son deals blades where shadows lie.
Parliament dines on polished lies,
Grenfell still burns in grieving eyes.
We’ve buried friends with plastic flowers,
Counted grief in unpaid hours.
Sold our skin for another meal,
Learned what breaks will never heal.
But we spit back blood, we don’t stay down,
We wear our scars like a battle crown.
We stitch with rage, we fight with breath,
We choose survival, we cheat on death.
Our anthem rises from grime and fire,
From hunger, loss, streets of wire.
We are the voices they tried to erase —
Stone and fire with a human face.
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a
Premium Membership.
