Photo by prestigiacomo.patricia, via Flickr
I gave to a homeless man.
Two pennies, a nickel, a couple of quarters
The jingling contents of my pocket
After twenty dollar tickets
And six dollar hot dogs
In the shadow of a viaduct
Cars roaring above
Stadium roaring behind
He saw me coming
Read my body language
Met me
As my family moved on ahead
Less than sixty cents
Practically nothing
And yet I touched his hand
Met his eyes
Bright and alive
Not dead
Not worn down
Surprisingly young
And I wonder what he thought
As he said thank you sweetheart
It’s still not enough.
Don’t these encounters leave you rattled? They make me actually pause the helter skelter pace of my life and consider.
This was beautiful.
Very beautiful.
That was lovely. Very touching.
B e a u t i f u l…
you touched much more than his hand <3