Life's Roundabout Ride

Life’s A
Roundabout Ride

By Paul McCann

 

 I walked the streets of London

and slept on the streets of Cork .

I ate from bins and dog food tins

and didn’t need a fork .

Ended up in shelters

from Dublin to Belfast as well   ,

Stayed in derelict buildings

about five footsteps from hell  .

Some people said I was a bum

but never realized

How hard I’d tried to hide the tears

from falling from my eyes .

I’d never known hunger and I’d never known shame ,

I never though that I would be a man without a name .

Once I was a tourist with money and places to go 

But then I was robbed and ended up walking through the snow .

It was cold at night and dangerous

sleeping rough out there .

I went and asked for help

from a system that didn’t care
. 

Homeless with no family

or no friends to call upon ,

I prayed each night in the morning

my life it would be gone .

I moved around from place to place

unwanted everywhere .

I wondered why God in his mercy

never heard my prayer.

Too weak to speak I looked for work

and found myself a job .

But a day before I started

I walked into a mob .    

Beaten up badly by some thugs

and left upon the street ,

Eventually I found my way

and got back on my feet .

Someone had called an ambulance

that had come to my aid

The police also arrived

and an arrest had been made  .

More than a few years have passed

now I found someone I love

I’m working hard in a job

and thanking God up above ,

For everyday I get up

and for all that goes around 

and for the hard times too

and for keeping me safe and sound .

What a difference I have seen  ,

sometimes life can be so strange .

 

Once I’d prayed for my life to end

but now all that has changed  .