Friday, May 30, 2014

To a Homeless Man:

Homeless Man - But for the Grace of God, go I

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” ― 14th Dalai Lama, [The Art of Happiness]



To a Homeless Man:

Homeless man,
I watched as you
lined a deserted doorway
with Maytag boxes. 

Like stark cardboard monuments,
their Fed Ex labels
and signs point 'This Side Up',
sad reminders of what is,


...and what could be,
but for the Grace of God.

I wondered,
if I wished
hard enough,
a Fed Ex truck
might spirit you away
on a magic carpet ride

to a place where you
wouldn't be invisible
for those who take the time
to look and really see,

to a place where someone
would offer you a job
with no Catch 22,


first telling you to shower
and wear clean clothes
for an interview

and you with no money 
for either, 
without a job.

I wished and I prayed.
But for the Grace of God, go I.






[From the book, "Anatomy of a Poet", by CJ Heck]

By at Amazon







“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Wonderful poem CJ, and you are right. There for the Grace of God go I. I see the homeless every where I go in Florida and it is so sad. I have bought meals for them and give a few dollars when I can. It makes me realize how lucky I am and not to complain. :o)

CJ Heck said...

Hello Patricia!
It's true, it is sad to see so many homeless. Thank you for taking the time to comment!

KAPARDELI EFTICHIA said...

Nice poem but i do not understand this "Catch 22"thanks

CJ Heck said...

Hello Eftichia,
A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules.

It often results from rules, regulations, or procedures that a person is subject to, but they have no control over it.

I hope this helps you! Thank you.
CJ

Susan Scott said...

Thanks for this heart felt poem CJ .. too true, here by the Grace of God go you or I.
Garden of Eden Blog

CJ Heck said...

Thank you, Susan, for your kind comments and for taking the time to read my poem.

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