LIVING ON THE STREET
Some people on the sidewalk outside a club downtown
Were teasing this old beggar with a cup,
tossing coins at him as he scrambled on the ground,
stomping on his fingers as he picked the money up
The crowd thought it was funny, hell, its just some homeless guy,
messing up the neighborhood, why's he here anyway?
they only saw his dirty clothes, never looked him in the eye,
Loud and loose and laughing, they never heard him say:
"A dollar’s worth of kindness, some quarters worth of hope
I know what you're thinking, that I'll spend it all on dope,
and some nights you might just be right, but I still need to eat,
and winters can be pretty hard living on the street.
It don't matter how I got here, here is where I am
I never planned my home would be a dirty old doorjamb.
and yeah, it's down to begging, but I don't steal or cheat,
and I don't mean no body harm, living on the street."
I stood by and listened, shook my head in disbelief,
Thinking this is really bad, these guys are inhumane,
they don't have to help him, but why give him such grief?
the crowd is acting crazy, this is just insane!
I wanted to do something, but I was there alone,
and what if they reacted by turning on me next?
I watched the homeless guy grab the money they had thrown
and as I thought about these words he said, I shook my head, perplexed.
"A dollar’s worth of kindness, some quarters worth of hope
I know what you're thinking, that I'll spend it all on dope,
and some nights you might just be right, but I still need to eat,
and winters can be pretty hard living on the street.
It don't matter how I got here, here is where I am
I never planned my home would be a dirty old doorjamb.
and yeah, it's down to begging, but I don't steal or cheat,
and I don't mean no body harm, living on the street.
no I don't mean no body harm, living on the street".
© Sandie Thurston 703/445-1333 Possum Point Publishing 18315 Possum Pt Rd Dumfries, VA 22026