His shoes are two sizes

too small, the toes press tight

to the tip. Nikes: white, grey, brown, red;

a rainbow of filth and dirt

perfectly matching his skin,

clothes. Giants sweatshirt,

beige dusted corduroy jacket

with holes a fist sized wide.

The jeans, once denim blue,

now faded to match the bubblegum

spat concrete he so effortlessly—

without hesitance—sits on, legs outstretched.

His hand, up and out, palm open, pleading—

unlike his turned down head.

His hand—overgrown nails

and caked with dirt—reaches for the coffee can

lying beside his leg: shake, shake, shake;

empty air, the rattle does not sound.

He looks up—a quick second—

a continuously busy street: the first time

emotion is etched

on his rag beard face. Disappointment

carves itself into the lines,

the hollowed out eyes. People race by,

stepping over and around him—

they notice him, avoiding

the city’s shame—

in a rush to get to somewhere better:

home to safe shelter,

their hearty meal cooked by a loved;

a high-end boutique to pack,

their closet with more never to be worn clothes;

the coffee shop to fulfill,

their caffeine fix fueled by gossip;

the jewelers to prove

their love for another—compassion,

we lack it for strangers.

“Don’t give him money,” the mother

warns her daughter—wasted cash

on cigarettes and alcohol.

The homeless are bums—no

ambition, dreams, drive.

False! Lies!

Some, no hope, faith, love.

“Compassion,” Sympathy whispers,

“makes this cruel world worth it.”

Two water bottles lie unnoticed

with the deli sandwich beside the can

until the change

from the twenty spent

clinks against tin.

Hope. His eyes dart up, confusion

pierced with faith.

Rebellion allows it:

compassion will reign.

---

I’m so stuck with this poem. Have been for months. I can’t get it where I’m entirely happy with it. The diction, tense, and line breaks keep messing with me. Some odd months down the road I’ll revisit it, again. Until then I’m sharing the pain caused by its begging criticism with anyone whose eyes are unlucky enough to read it.