In New South Wales
bridges tell the tale
of life's travail
for the not so beautiful elite
@poetry = The homeless out of work
share a space of dirt
beneath your bridges
under the souls of your feet
@poetry = There's no dreaming here
romance is out of date
beauty is the sadness
of a quintessential fate
@poetry = Mums 'n kids share
8 x 2 tin cans with lids
and wait for that day of the meek
but it won't be this week
@poetry = There communards
sleep by streets
on a park bench
where the soup kitchen meets
@poetry = Real jobs have gone
old industries fled
and the rest of youse
have left us for dead
@poetry = In New South Wales
histories tell the tale
of a social elite
with mud at their feet
@poetry = and egos that never skip a beat
[Karen Davies is a full writer member of the Australasian Performing Rights Association. She is a well educated individual with many credits to her name. Even so, Davies and her daughter experienced sub-standard and crisis housing while trying to relocate to the Northern Rivers area. This poem was written in response to this experience. Davies is very mindful that others in a similar position might not have the same resources to change their predicament.]