The Final Solution

He was walking along the tramway

On the other side of town,

The lines had shone in the darkness,

There wasn’t a tram around,

The road from the rain was glistening

Reflecting the roadside lights,

Then the man stood still, and listening

On this coldest of winter nights.

 

It had been so still and silent

Once the shoppers all had fled,

Out of the city centre,

And heading on home to bed,

But he was one of the homeless

Adrift on the city’s streets,

And prey to the wind and weather

That the homeless people meet.

 

His coat was ragged and weathered,

His boots were holed in the soles,

He hadn’t managed a shave for days

So his beard looked grey and old,

His pants, held up by a piece of string

Were the sorriest in the town,

And his face was racked with misery,

For he looked just beaten down.

 

But now as the lights of the bedrooms died

On either side of the street,

The dark was becoming palpable

As he dragged his weary feet,

But still he stuck to the tramway lines

As the quickest way to the docks,

Hoping to find a brazier’s heat

To dry out his sodden socks.

 

But still he stood and he listened

For sounds in that dreadful night,

It seemed that animals snapped and snarled

Beyond the reach of light,

The homeless went with a rumour

There were wolves out there in the dark,

For many a trace of blood was found

By day, out there in the park.

 

And there in the dark of alleyways

He could see the eyes a-gleam,

Waiting for him to pass them by

Before they would pounce, it seemed,

He shivered under his ragged coat

And pulled the collar up high,

Thinking it might protect his throat

When they came for him, by and by.

 

The wolves then bayed at the crescent moon

As they watched his figure pass,

They saw him shaking in fear and gloom

Like walking on broken glass,

But suddenly there was a rumbling

And the lights of a late night tram,

He moved aside then as if to ride

When a wolf tore at his hand.

 

Then suddenly there were three or four

In a fury of rip and snarl,

Tearing apart a bag of bones

Of the man who was known as Carl,

His blood seeped into the tramway tracks

As the tramway driver stopped,

And watched as they tore the man apart

With one of the city cops.

 

The council workers came out at dawn

To clear up the grisly mess,

They’d had their orders from City Hall

To dispose of homelessness,

The keepers, out from the city zoo

Recaptured the wolves out there,

But ready to let them out again

When a killing was in the air.

 

‘We have to clean up the city streets,’

The mayor had long opined,

‘Get rid of the homeless, nice and neat,

The residents sure won’t mind.’

The street’s a virtual jungle when

The lights in the streets go out,

And all you’ll hear is the scream of fear

When a homeless person shouts.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Barbz]

The fate of the homeless is in our hands! Thank you for bringing this inhuman condition to the forefront. But for the Grace of God, any one of us could be faced with misfortune, winding up homeless , walking the path of the tramway to the docks. When the fortunates are tucked up in our warm beds, the unfortunates are being eaten up and are screaming....do you, I, City Hall, or the powers that be, hear their screams..........Is there a Final Solution, or do we leave it up to the wolves? ThankYou, DLP......

[R Smith]

wow! that turned into a real scary story David, i was going down the homeless and lost road, then BANG' the wolves struck, a man made scheme to clean up the streets, powerful work David, let's hope it don't come true :)

[andrew mitchell]

A great write about the unfortunates. Structured so well your writes , you are like an architect of poetry!

[TPK Stories]

It's a sad world when people want to rid the world of the homeless. Great story DLP...

[Valentine]

You really nailed down this problem. In all the major and small towns there are the homeless. Food banks are everywhere, what people do not realize is that many of these people are not the drug addicts or the drunkards. Many were hurt in the service of our country and need help. Never pays to judge a man, until you have walked a mile in his shoes. "My dads theory" Valentine

[Marie]

That's one way of dealing with the problem. But wolves are sometimes human, and those are even more frightening...

[Alan Corbett]

Hi David, I for one do not give praise lightly but I must say I enjoyed this poem...so much so I didn't even look for grammatical mistakes, if any...Well done.