What Do You See?
You probably never see
The tramp who has to be
Plunging his hands
Through the garbage in cans
To find a half good orange
Maybe
And you've probably never known
Those whose own body
Devours them inward
From the bone
Have you ever seen someone find
An open bottle of wine
And just as his heart
Jumped for his win
And his shaking hands
Lifted the bottle
Towards his shaking mind
His nostrils caught
And cleared and lost,
Shattered.
A green glass wine bottle
Filled with urine.
Some evil slime
Which could have come
From one
Who bought and drank that wine
But most likely was done
From one whose need
Was cruelty.
People talk about "the homeless"
I've heard people say
"Why don't they get it together?
Why do they act that way?"
and, "They could do better of course
They don't have to live that way!
Just lazy and want us to support them
They've already got shelters and welfare
That's more than enough for us to pay."
I saw a man once on a documentary
About our homeless folk today.
He said, "Don't ever think it can't happen to you.
It can happen to anyone. It happened to me.
It could happen tomorrow.
Could happen today.”
And I’ve heard it said
I bet you have, too.
“Whatsoever ye do unto the least of my
brethren,
Ye do unto me.” Yes you do.
When our towns are full of empty buildings
And our trash is clogged with good food
While our countrymen sleep on the sidewalk
In any religion, or no religion, call that a sin.
A real bad sin. Careless management.
No way to treat your kin.
It could be your child, your old friend
Thinking, “I wonder if they remember me?”
It could be your mom or dad. Or you.
Someday, each one of us has to see.
©Nancy Zarins 2011, Tacoma, WA
The tramp who has to be
Plunging his hands
Through the garbage in cans
To find a half good orange
Maybe
And you've probably never known
Those whose own body
Devours them inward
From the bone
Have you ever seen someone find
An open bottle of wine
And just as his heart
Jumped for his win
And his shaking hands
Lifted the bottle
Towards his shaking mind
His nostrils caught
And cleared and lost,
Shattered.
A green glass wine bottle
Filled with urine.
Some evil slime
Which could have come
From one
Who bought and drank that wine
But most likely was done
From one whose need
Was cruelty.
People talk about "the homeless"
I've heard people say
"Why don't they get it together?
Why do they act that way?"
and, "They could do better of course
They don't have to live that way!
Just lazy and want us to support them
They've already got shelters and welfare
That's more than enough for us to pay."
I saw a man once on a documentary
About our homeless folk today.
He said, "Don't ever think it can't happen to you.
It can happen to anyone. It happened to me.
It could happen tomorrow.
Could happen today.”
And I’ve heard it said
I bet you have, too.
“Whatsoever ye do unto the least of my
brethren,
Ye do unto me.” Yes you do.
When our towns are full of empty buildings
And our trash is clogged with good food
While our countrymen sleep on the sidewalk
In any religion, or no religion, call that a sin.
A real bad sin. Careless management.
No way to treat your kin.
It could be your child, your old friend
Thinking, “I wonder if they remember me?”
It could be your mom or dad. Or you.
Someday, each one of us has to see.
©Nancy Zarins 2011, Tacoma, WA
