joey k poetry

The homelessness issue 
in the United States
could be solved with a single 
legislative action: 
Berkshire Hathaway 
and Blackrock, for every 
home they own, 
must give
another to home to
low income housing or 
allow the dwelling
to be rent controlled. 
If they believe this to be 
too radical, then they’re welcome 
to leave the United States 
to find opportunity elsewhere. 
If they want to fight this, 
then they may do so 
only when their international 
holdings and subsidiaries 
are wholly disclosed to Congress 
and the citizens at large in a public hearing. 

What do homeless people need most? 
H O M E S. 
Without an address you cannot apply to jobs. 
Without an address you cannot open 
a bank account. Without a home you 
will die to the hot summers and 
freezing winters. 

I believe Warren Buffet 
and Larry Fink 
(and throw Andrew Witty in too, 
for good measure) 
should spend an Arizona summer 
without a home, 
and a Minnesota winter 
without a home, and then we can 
gauge their levels of empathy. 

How does that sound? 

Listen Warren
Listen Larry
Listen Andrew: 
The Land Reform movement 
lives on. 
Ask Thatcher (when you see her)
what it was like 
to check under her car 
every time she drove. 

All we have to lose 
are our chains. 

I pray for a world where 
homelessness is ended, 
public healthcare is not 
regulated by the police state,
women can decide what happens 
to their bodies while walking 
alone at night, and children 
are not beaten or starving. 

I pray for a world 
where landlords 
do not cause homelessness. 
I pray for a world 
where police do not shoot 
the mentally ill. 
I pray for a world 
where children are fed and safe. 

I know how to live out my prayers. 
Do you, billionaire?