The Ballad Of The Slums

The world hurtles on unmindful Leaving behind those who cannot keep pace So many are under constant grind To earn a square meal a day On deserted streets many roam Their stomachs empty, their bowels growling They have nothing to rejoice, only to grieve For them joy is an unknown flavour They too are rightful heirs to Nature's bounty Yet fate decrees for them a dismal course! They are smothered under poverty's bleak embrace Over their ashen sky, dark clouds gather round In dingy make shift dwellings, Drab lives cram together under tin sheets, Braving the sun and the inclement weather Wallowing in dirt and filth with flies for company They see the stars luminous through cracked roofs And weave dreams of better times But soon their dreams go crashing down Pushing them into a life brutally unfair The callously unfeeling men strut past them Deaf to their ballads of sad refrain Their unheard moans die down In the alleys where darkness strangulates light!