I look the other way
Lest his outstretched hand should touch me
I cross the street
and walk on the other side
It's the same day in day out
He's there in the morning
And in the evening as I go home
With the very same clothes
He changes not
Today however there is something different
He looks sadder than usual
I'm tempted to stop and ask
But why should I
He does not concern me
I walk quickly and vow to forget
But I cannot
All day long I think
I think long and hard about him
About this man I see everyday
I vow to stop and talk to him on my way home
I reach his spot but he's not there
I look, I search, I ask
Everywhere.
Nobody knows where he has gone
Then silently from among the crowd,
A small boy asks
"Are you looking for my daddy?"
We all turn and look at this minute being
As he tells us the story we never stopped to hear
"The doctors told him he wouldn't live long
If he didn't raise money for the operation
He had a heart condition
Which could not allow him to work
And so he had to beg"
Today however he woke up breathless
And knew it was time
What he had he gave to us
Came here one last time
Then went home to bed
Where he died.
Tears rolled down my face.
My ignorance had cost a life
I wondered whether
I would have been of any help
BUT NOW I WILL NEVER KNOW!!!
« return.