A Life's Story

The story is about,
says the book’s blurb,
a stressful life
in an English suburb.

The events described
are heart-rending;
it’s hard to envisage
a happy ending.

The tale, told at length
in a large tome
is reminiscent
of ‘Cathy come home’.
 

It tells of people
sleeping on pavements,
or else sheltering
in shoddy tenements.

Recounts the level
to which men sank,
starving and relying
on a food bank.

But not all is lost
and there is yet hope
that they’ll survive
and finally cope.

Though it reveals
a tough existence
the book emphasises
their proud resilience.

They don’t succumb
to gloom and doom,
they know life’s a cycle
of bust and boom.

© Luigi Pagano 2016