For the unknown

A dimly lit staircase leading from the street
Carpets worn and ragged, broken bed, dirty sheets
The woodwork needed painting, walls were black with damp
Just an old chair and a table on the table stood a lamp
A picture of a woman a sepia photograph
A cutting from a paper a well-read paragraph
Never knew his mother died whilst giving birth
Just a few lines in the paper was all her life was worth

Just a stray dog going through the bins
Silent streets sleeping off the sins
A baby’s crying sounds into the night
And a ghostly presence lingers here tonight

The odds were stacked against him fighting to survive
A strong determination the will to stay alive
His body felt the hunger, his body felt the cold
But most of all his body felt the pains of growing old
No friends or family he died all alone
He passed away that day into the vast unknown
His death went undetected about three months or more
When bailiffs came in the pouring rain and battered down the door

Just a stray dog going through the bins
Silent streets sleeping off the sins
A baby’s crying sounds into the night
And a ghostly presence lingers here tonight