The Bum

One beautiful day, I was on my merry way

And I was almost late to work

That’s when I saw a bum and he was eating crumbs

And I didn’t want to be a jerk

So, I said to him “Sir, I don’t want to bother but can

You tell me please”

I didn’t want to go near him for fear that he had

A disease

He had holes in his clothes and matted cornrows

And they were salt and pepper

He had snot in his nose and I supposed

That he was a leper

His eyes were yellow

His teeth were brown

He smoked a cigarillo and

He drank a fifth of Crown

“Sir, can you tell me a little

About your pain

I’ll play my fiddle when you sleep

In the rain

Where do you go when the insects swarm?

And when it’s cold

Who keeps you warm?

And when you’re hungry

Do you eat out of the trash?

And who gives you ointment

When you get a rash?

If you have no money

Then you have no power

You offend society

Because you can’t take a shower

Please, Mr. Wendell

Why are you so strange?

Are you insane, mentally ill, or

Completely deranged?”

He asked, “My child can you spare some change?”

“I’ve been on the streets for awhile

And I have no name

I sit here waiting and waiting for mankind’s humanity

Giving people ample chances to avoid

Their own calamity

I came to you broken

And you still pass me by

You think you’re so much better than me

You don’t care if I die

I test you everyday

By begging you for a penny

You say that I use drugs and then

You buy my sandwich from Denny’s

Your compassion is missing

In the Bermuda Triangle

The whole time you’re dissing

One of God’s brightest angels

I test you to bless you

So your cup will run over

But you laugh and spit at me

And turn the world even colder

So, the next time you see a bum

You should be so wise

To give him a dollar

And let him entertain you

Because he’s an angel in disguise”

By Mercedes L Hodge