One of our vendors Brad, who sells the magazine in Hackney, East London, wanted to share a poem with Big Issue readers. He said: “It encapsulates my life’s journey in just a few verses: family rejection, a brutal state care system, resilience, the pathway to healing and hope of a brighter future.”
The System’s Child, Now Rising High
Brad, a name etchedon a faded file,
A life adrift, lost for a while.
Born to a mother,a love unfulfilled,
A cradle of neglect,a promise unsealed.
The system’s embrace,a cold, sterile hand,
Where shadows of sorrowforever expand.
Bruises unseen,scars that reside,
In the depths of his soul,where emotions reside.
But within him,a spirit so strong,
Refusing to falter,where he belonged.
A flicker of hope,a yearning to rise,
To break through the darkness,and…