The Cardboard Man

“Brother can you spare a dime”, Was scrawled on the cardboard sign When I looked at him a little closer His face looked an awful lot like mine I reached inside my pocket To take out a buck or two Inside my hand just found a hole That my fingers passed right through A lady hurried past me, saying, “Man you’re a disgrace” I looked at my reflection And didn’t recognize my face I heard the clinking of a quarter Inside an old tin cup And was surprised to see it in my hand When I lifted my head up Does this sign belong to me? I’m I the homeless, begging man? I tried to make some sense of things I could not understand The policeman said, “Move along, You cannot solicit here” I am the man with the cardboard sign I now recognize with fear I reached down to help him up And dusted off his clothes I let him use my left shirt sleeve To wipe off his runny nose I tore up the cardboard sign To add a little more padding to my shoe The holes were making my feet bleed My blood - no longer was it blue Somewhere in my memory I was the son of a rich man Who walked away from the decadence Saying, “Do it now, while you still can” So yes, I am the cardboard man But please don’t shower pity down on me Although I may be a crazy man At least now I know I’m free