The Homeless Man
The Homeless Man
By Elton Camp
With averted eyes I pretend not to see
The homeless old man in front of me
Clothes others didn’t want any more
Given free or from a sleazy thrift store
A shabby coat to keep out the cold
Unpolished shoes, cracked and old
A black cap with bill to hide his face
So that others won’t see his disgrace
Once he was his parents’ pride and joy
A handsome little bouncing baby boy
Through the trash can he has to plough
To beg, the man’s pride won’t allow
A shopping cart holds all he’s found
In black plastic it’s so tightly bound
Right there is all of his worldly stash
His prized treasures from the trash
I wonder where the man will eat today
If, at night, he will find a place to stay
The weather forecast is cold and snow
Yet, there may be no place he can go
What brought him to his desperate plight?
When young, were his prospects bright?
A sad sight like that I don’t like to see
Under other conditions, it could be me
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