From the Anthology
Writing from the Unhoused
In the heart of the city, where the neon lights dance with the whispers of ambition, I tread silently in the shadows. My existence, like that of many others, remains unseen, a ghost in the machine of society. I am not a citizen here, merely a specter lingering on the fringes of a system that never acknowledged my presence.
Born under distant stars, my journey to this concrete jungle was one of hope and dreams. But the reality that greeted me was far from the promises whispered by the winds of opportunity. I am a non-citizen, a label that weighs heavy upon my shoulders, a mark that brands me as an outsider in a world that demands conformity.
It was on a cold winter’s night that the system, with its cold, unfeeling hands, reached out to me. I was walking home from my meager job, the echoes of laughter and warmth from the bustling cafes mocking the chill that gnawed at my bones. Suddenly, a shadow loomed before me, and before I could react, rough hands snatched my belongings from me. In the dim light, I caught a glimpse of the face of my assailant, a face twisted by desperation and hunger. But it wasn’t just the face of a petty thief that I saw; it was the face of the system itself, a system that had robbed us both of our humanity.
As I stood there, shaken and vulnerable, I realized that this was not an isolated incident but a symptom of a much larger disease. The system, with its invisible chains, had pushed us to the brink, forced us to fight for the scraps it deemed unworthy of its attention.
I reported the incident to the authorities, but their response was as cold and indifferent as the night itself. As a non- citizen, my voice held no weight in their eyes, my pleas falling upon deaf ears. I was merely a statistic, another casualty of a broken system that had long forgotten the meaning of justice. In the days that followed, I found myself haunted by the memory of that night, the fear and helplessness etched into my soul. But amidst the darkness, a spark of defiance flickered to life within me. I refused to be defined by the system that sought to oppress me, to reduce me to nothing more than a shadow in the night.
And so, with each step I took, I vowed to reclaim my voice, to stand tall in the face of adversity and demand to be seen. For I may be a non-citizen in the eyes of the system, but in the depths of my being, I am so much more. I am a survivor, a dreamer, a force to be reckoned with. And no amount of darkness can extinguish the light that burns within me.
