PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

With a face and body like a worn glove

Forgotten in a basement by kids who grew up

A man with an empty cup sits in the park

He holds a sign that says "Hungry, Please Help"

Many a person passed by

on the frequently refreshed pavement

They toss quarters at a fountain

opposite the man and make wishes

I saw him, one day,

being arrested for putting his hands in the water

For a faint moment, I could have

sworn he had looked a little younger

Had he desperately hoped

that all those people looking the other way

Only had feigned thoughtless laughter and smiles,

because they just couldn't bear to see his pain

And that all those coins they tossed

were really gathered there to wish him well

The police officers and the couple tossing a coin over his shoulder

as he was arrested tore that faint hope away

He was reminded, so coldly,

as only such a reminder can be redeemed

That they were wishing for more for themselves,

and somehow less of 'he' to see

He's gone now,

but two take his place till they're sent away

That winter,

the worn man passed away on a frigid park bench

A victim of nature's harshest season and Man's constant winter

The wishing well man died feet from money he was forbidden to touch

and that people didn't miss

Is there, truly, a greater crime than the way that we live?