You see a homeless man

Standing on the corner of the road.

You see vehicles

Passing by him.

You see women and children

Scurrying to the opposite side of him.

You see the world

Pretending that this man doesn't exist.

As you question the goodness in the world,

You see a well-dressed man

Approach him.

He doesn't hand him a ten.

He doesn't hand him food.

He doesn't hand him a cigarette.

But he shakes hands with him,

Introduces himself,

And makes conversation with him.

The homeless man vents

About his terrible past.

He at one time lived well and happy

Until a fire came into play.

He lost his home, he lost his wife.

He lost his children, he lost his meaning for life.

And as he continues his story,

He starts to shed a tear

Because it was his biggest fear-

Losing everything that was valuable

And gave him a purpose that was so clear.

He said, "After that, all I did was buy beer.

I couldn't find a reason

To make a living anymore--

I couldn't find a reason

To live anymore.

They were my future, they were my love,

They were what I looked forward to

When my day was really tough.

But everyday has been so dark since

And I just can't find motivation

To try to make anything out of myself

Because I failed at the one thing

I thought I was good at..

And now they are gone."

And the well-dressed man

Sits and wipes his tears.

Who knew a homeless man had a story?

Who knew a homeless man had a voice?

Who knew a homeless man had a heart?

This man was not homeless;

He just had no home.

He had no one to go back to,

He had nobody to care for,

He had nobody to care for him..

And that was the saddest part.

Everybody would walk past him

As if he wasn't a human,

But he was as real as it gets.

He knew pain,

He knew struggle,

He knew death.

And while the well-dressed man

And the man without a home

Continued talking,

He realized how much he missed talking.

He realized how much he missed human contact.

He realized how much he missed life.

The well-dressed man eventually had to leave,

But his impact stayed on him forever.

And as you watched this unravel before your very eyes,

You realized that the world is not as deceived as you thought.

One man cannot change the world,

But one man can change another man's world.

It just takes some courage is all

And two ears that are ready to listen.