"A collection of poetry covering the experience of homelessness." Is homelessness really a matter of choice? If yes, what drives that choice? What makes a person up-sticks, leave the comfort of their home, to live in the street - the street that kills with "tusk-like rock-ends that stab and tear like stampeding elephants"? A place that is cold, when not wet, spitting hailstone or forcing everything standing to bow in veneration. If no, why does society see the homeless as something the cat drags in? What makes us immune and turn a blind eye to the sufferings of our own? David Onamade uses Sorrow, Tears and Blood to explore and recount his first-hand experience of long-term homelessness. It is clinical. It is current. It seeks to provide a different view, devoid of false assumptions.
David Onamades primary interest is racial equality in the UK, a field he had dedicated all his working life until recently partly to pursue his interest in writing. His single-poem collection about the toppling of Edward Colston was published in August 2020. David is helping to get unheard voices, such as those most adversely impacted by COVID-19, into print. He tragically passed away in May 2021.
"In this poetry anthology, the author draws on personal experience to depict an entirely raw and honest account of what its like to be homeless. Following the authors emotional journey, the reader empathises to an extent where you understand how nearly everything that exists can become a hurdle. An example of this is through the personification of the seasons, where something with no malicious intent has such a destructive presence. The beauty of these poems is in the authors detailed observations. Absolutely everything has been noticed by the author and deemed impactful, from friends that were made, to the bees during the warmer seasons. This fully opens the readers awareness, allowing them to sincerely connect to the authors experiences." -- Amran Abdiqadir Mohamed