Exploit me, I’m young, unemployed, and scared,
No furlough, hours zero, I’m unprepared.
My parents have split up, I’m on bleak street,
My sleeping bag’s damp, no socks for my feet.
How did I get here, outside Debenhams,
With other unwashed, without any mums.
Grandparents gone, Covid took them away,
Can’t carry on, I am hungry again.
In my head I’m alone, don’t have a friend,
Nobody trusts me, it feels like the end,
Soup kitchen came here, a few days ago,
Gave me a sandwich, cheese and tomato.
In Cardiff the police made me move on,
Now I can’t stop coughing, I’ll soon be gone.

Harry Rogers, In the Red Bedroom, 18th April 2021