Dirty Old Town

Dirty Old Town

The streets are thick with soot and rain

a child stands waiting, thin with pain

her dress is torn, her shoes are weak

she hides her hunger, does not speak

The chimneys choke, the mills still roar

we line for bread outside the store

the coins are few, the mouths are more

I cannot feed them as before

The night is cold, the fire is small

a single loaf to share with all

their eyes are wide, they beg for meat

yet empty bowls are what they meet

The river stinks of ash and lead

the sick lie restless in their bed

no doctor comes, no cure is near

we bury hope and fight down fear

The factory doors will never close

from dawn to dark the children go

their hands are raw, their bodies bent

for pennies earned and spirit spent

The mothers trade their rings for crumbs

the fathers break their backs for sums

so slight, so cruel, they barely keep

a roof above, a chance to sleep

The alley whispers, the gutters sing

a song of hunger echoing

each cry, each cough, each shiver shown

reminds me we are not alone

No light will shine, no mercy found

just starving souls on broken ground

a dirty town that strips us bare

and leaves us dying in the air