Moonlight fell
On the walls of
An old cracked
Ruined Hotel
That had decayed
Long ago and which
Was now home to
Spiders and the
Shadows of
The past.

A small group
Of homeless lost souls,
Hungry and cold walked
Through the unfamiliar
Streets of a foreign land
Carrying their meagre
Possessions in
Cheap plastic
Supermarket
Bags.

Some carried
Postcards of Berlin,
Paris or London;
They carried
With them tokens
Of their dreams and
Aspirations.

The memories
Of misery and war
Remained and they
Were all hungry,
Gaunt and thin;
Like a spindly
Group of
Giacometti
Sculptures.

They camped in
The remains of the
Ruined hotel for the
Night and the roof
Had collapsed and
Was exposed to the stars,
The moonlight streaming in
Through wrecked roof rafters,
Through dust and spiderwebs.

They lit a small fire
And shared some
Pieces of stale bread,
And they sang songs
From their homeland,
And they were all weary
And exhausted.

Even in their
Poverty and
Self-imposed exile,
They managed to
Experience small
Ephemeral moments of
Joy and transcendence
Like on this moonlit night.

For they had followed
The human will and instinct
For survival that drove all of
The waves of migration of
The preceding generations
Of humanity around the world
Since the dawn of history
To find new homes,
And they wouldn’t
Be the last.

They listened to the crackling
Flames and looked up at the
Stars in the coolness of
The night and imagined;
They were homeless but
They were happy and free,
And they lived in hope
For a new tomorrow,
In the shadows of
A ruined hotel.

*******************************

With a digital drawing from Nikos Laios

********************************

Don't miss Nikos Laios NEW eBook
The Silent Symphony
A collection of poems and paintings,
you can download for FREE, HERE!

********************************

Also check Nikos Laios' EBOOK
Ida & Her Magic Camera
is online now and you can download for FREE HERE!