Francis Duggan - I Do Not Know

I do not know what it feels like to be wealthy though I've never known poverty
And I feel I am a lucky fellow as lack of food will never kill me
And I've never been a displaced person and left to live with the bad memory
Of camp life on the fringe of the desert the lot of the poor refugee.

I do not know what it feels like to be Homeless without a roof over my head
Without a mattress for to sleep on and a warm and comfortable bed
One might say I am rather lucky life for some must be living hell
Compared to some I have it easy and I am one who lives rather well.

I do not know how it feels to be hungry and to go to sleep hungry at night
And of food I have always had plenty for to appease my appetite
And so many without a future in a World where many have more than enough
And I feel I am rather lucky since I never have known it tough.

I do not know how it feels like to be suicidal one on the brink of despair
One without a purpose in living whose life dreams are shattered beyond repair
I am a very lucky fellow my life not so bad over all
And I have some marvellous memories that I feel happy to recall.

I do not know how it feels like to suffer from prolonged depression and only know unhappiness
And have to live life without laughter enmeshed in a cocoon of stress,
Suppose I am one lucky fellow I enjoy a good laugh every day
And even in my darkest moments happiness from me not far away.

Francis Duggan

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-do-not-know-3/