ANTARCTIC WINDS

Icy winds blow in Melbourne town
Nearly Antarctically cold,
Cold enough to freeze the blood solid
To chill right through to your soul.

Icy winds blow through the lives
Of those without houses to go to,
Shuffling slowly down Nicholson Street
Where the unemployed must queue.

Icy winds blow across the faces
Of queues of shuffling men,
Frozen near like living icebergs
Forced to live out in the open.

Through the winds of Melbourne’s West
The homeless masses shuffle,
Their faces set in silent screams
Screams the wind has muffled.

Frigid winds howl down Footscray’s Streets
Along Buckley, Barkly, and Paisley
The living try to avoid the cold
But it seems there’s nowhere left to flee.

So one by one they die outside
Alone in Footscray’s walks,
A victim of Antarctic cold
Which like a demon cruelly stalks.

Following those now living outside
Who sleep down in Footscray Park,
A victim of Melbourne's cold
Which sweeps in with the falling dark.

THE END
© Copyright 2023 Philip Roberts
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia