We have all been exposed to the societal issue of homelessness, and people living on the streets for a whole variety of reasons. This poem was written days ago (December 7) without a specific inspiration, and yet, it came together around the telling of a story of an individual who has found himself on the streets for a protracted period of time, and in need of support as he considers what next. There but by the grace of God go I, or for that matter, each of us.
He looked in the mirror filled with dirt and cracks
With bleary, tired eyes that did stare back
He tried to smile but there was nothing inside
It was like looking at empty, after he’d died
The night had been cold on the sidewalk vent
With a worn thin blanket serving as a tent
A near empty knapsack, a pillow for his head
There’d been no dreaming for he was almost dead
He could not remember the last time he’d ate
His stomach ached and he’d been losing weight
His pants filled with holes were held up with rope
He stank like a sewer as if never touched by soap
It hurt to remember so he would try to forget
The family lost and the life that had been set
He blinked away a tear as he cursed himself
Then picked his toque up from the little shelf
He left the bathroom inside the coffee house
Grabbed a coffee and scurried away like a mouse
Quietly invisible as others looked away
Back into the cold, and a long grey day
Alone and lonely, he walked to keep on the go
One step at a time into the falling snow
He had nothing left and ahead was only space
He was no longer feeling God’s loving grace
Leaning against a wall, he closed his eyes
Trying to drown out the sound of his plaintive cries
He begged for strength and someone to care
He’d reach the bottom and thrown out a dare
To himself, to stop feeling sorry and move ahead
To no longer run away from the life that he’d fled
With a shake of his head, and his mind made up
He turned into the church for warmth and to sup
As he ate the bread and slurped the soup
He glanced around and saw others in the group
He was not alone but needed to stand on his own
Maybe he could return to the life he had known
First step was to reach out and ask for a helping hand
An act of forgiveness and a new place to stand
It would not be easy but the time was now right
To regain his life and a new story to live and write
Just then a man sat down and at him smiled
He had the look of a man recently reconciled
With out reached hands, they did touch
His heart no longer hurting quite so much
He had found the strength and someone did care
He realized suddenly that he’d said a prayer
His cries had been heard; it felt so good
For the first time in a long time, he knew he would.
Would recover, heal, and live without the strife
To re-introduce himself to his children and his wife
To seek forgiveness from those he did love
To find his way back to serve his God above.