Hey guys, so I recently stumbled across this one video where a homeless man shared one of his original poems. Within the poem he shared his story and truly expressed his feelings. Before watching the video I really never considered poetry and or great art coming from homeless people. Going to school in New York we pass by many homeless individuals on a daily basis but unfortunately we have become rather numb to their presence and as a result have gained to ability to easily walk right pass them without giving it a second thought. Art is a tool that can be used by anyone, and that being said inspiration for that art can come from anywhere. It made me rethink all of the times I walked by the homeless and reconsider the stories they might have behind their current lives.
The Arts in NYC
Baruch College, Fall 2013
I’ve seen many videos and news articles that attempt to humanize homeless people, and I think they’re all such eye-openers. It’s hard to fully understand the difficulty in people’s lives without going through their turmoil, so when they can share something like this, where others pay attention and listen, I think it’s beautiful. It certainly makes us become more aware that the person asking for money on a train has human emotions and human problems.
Furthermore, I felt as though this poem sounded like rap, and I feel as though it’s often given a bad name, but it is rhythm accompanied poetry, and I think this video also showed the beauty of poetry and music together.
That poem is truly touching and shows how he reflected on his life. He understood what led him to becoming homeless and hopefully he gets a second chance to live life the way he wants to. I read an article once that a college professor became homeless because of his schizophrenia. He was driven mad and, as a result, could no longer function in society or work. It makes you wonder how many other homeless people have similar stories.