L Milton Hankins Poet Free verse

I Saw a Man

I saw a man standing by the road
He was bedraggled and beaten down,
I passed him by, afraid to share my empty seat
And thought how sad we have come to this
In our self-satisfied want for nothing,
Afraid, because we hear horror stories
About those who have helped strangers,
Denying ourselves the opportunity to bless.

And, thinking of him, I must confess
Our modern age is filled with many dangers,
But we need to take stock of our inventories
Of good deeds, what to the table we bring
Wrapped in our cloaks of not-my-business,
My life is so pleasing, well-ordered, and neat
Why put myself out for some lowdown?
When I realized many helped me with my load.

written March 28, 2022
[Verso-Rhyme]

♡Like0

Share Poem

---

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Caren Krutsinger March 29, 2022 at 8:52 AM "Why put myself out for some lowdown?" - and I think you had second third and forth thoughts about thinking this. L Milton Hankins March 29, 2022 at 9:05 AM I did, indeed, Caren. Like, who am I to make that kind of judgment about another human being!

Kim Rodrigues March 28, 2022 at 1:55 PM I’ve thought the same…to relax, be wary but not to the point of inhospitable! We had workers at the house. I engaged them more in conversation today. Be blessed! God will let us find the way! L Milton Hankins March 28, 2022 at 2:17 PM Thank you, Kim. I am happy you felt like you could engage them more in a personal way. I'm sure they liked that.

Marco Chies March 28, 2022 at 1:04 PM A difficult topic, that. In the end, I think the decision was the right one... L Milton Hankins March 28, 2022 at 1:16 PM I think you're right, Marco. See my response to Victor below.

Victor Buhagiar March 28, 2022 at 11:46 AM I understand your preoccupation. I feel the same way. L Milton Hankins March 28, 2022 at 1:16 PM It's so difficult to make this decision, Victor. I have picked up strangers along the highway, but, it seems that every time I did, I had some reason to regret it. Often, I found them to be mentally ill and frightening. (I'm talking one or two in the last forty years!)