What We Have In Common

Homeless encampment, Johnson City, Tennessee Photograph © 2023 Stephen Newton

What We Have In Common was written by Lori Joseph in response to the film, One Night in January: Counting the Cost of Homelessness. To submit your answer to the question: If you were suddenly thrust into homelessness, how would you feel? please visit bookscover2cover.com for details.

Joseph prefaces her poem with this caveat:

“I can’t begin to write about homelessness when I have never been homeless. What I can write about are the emotions and the feelings we have in common. The essence of what reminds me I am closer to being homeless than they are to having a place to call home.”

WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON
By Lori Joseph

We feel shame

and embarrassment.

Low self-esteem.

We feel fear,

uncertainty,

rejection, defeat.

With voracious hunger

we beg for relief

from anger, from grief.

We know it’s easy

to tip the bottle, do the drug.

But somewhere deep within

we know our souls,

we know our light,

we know our thirst

for more.

About the Author:
Lori Joseph is a writer/poet and photo stylist. Her most recent book is My Embrace available at Amazon. Buy it here. For more information about her work, visit lorijoseph.com