Parvis de l'école publique maternelle et élémentaire et du centre sportif St Merri (IVe), refuge des SDF (Photo VlM /NC)
Will they have a home for Xmas ?
Down the corner of my street,
In the center of Paris,
Under the cantilevered
Courtyard of a school, gathers
The misery of the world.
In daytime, it’s children’s realm.
But promptly when night’s falling,
They quietly invade the place,
Coming from nowhere, crowding
Into the meagre shelter.
Look at them set up the camp,
Fifty or more tents clustered
Together to fight the cold,
Filled with blankets, sleeping bags,
Not enough to keep them warm.
Soon other people turn up,
Young, neat and well-fed, eager
To show concern, provide food,
More blankets, more medicines,
Watched by carefree passers-by.
After dinner, sleep slowly
Muffles noises, songs, quarrels,
laughs, barking, children’s crying.
There are no sanitaries
But cold will kill fetid smells.
Their night is short : before eight
All must be gone – tents, blankets,
Sleeping bags hidden away –
Before the city staff cleans
The courtyard for daytime play.
Ms Hidalgo, Ms Mayor :
Give them a home for Xmas !
N. Colombel
Traduction du poème en français :
