A DIFFERENT RACE

The lighted first-floor windows illuminate them

Their good sides always facing outwards

Like so many beautiful birds they perch;

Silently caged,

Mouthing ‘For Sale’ pleasantries

Outside

Others less beautiful ply the darkness

Stalked by vermin

And the ghosts of their childhood

There is a rage

Unfurling flags of despair;

‘Look at what you have done’

Some are shouting

‘Don’t you care?’

These articulate ones are the ugliest

The least loved

And the loneliest