Compassion

©Carol A. Hanson - March, 2009
As I wait for the light to turn green,

I gaze at the homeless, toothless woman at the curb.

My heart fills with sweet compassion for her,

Not pity, not disgust, just sweet, sweet compassion.

I do not know what life dished out to her,

What was it that crushed her hope, her very Soul?

What left her here so compassionless, so lifeless?

I do not give any money this day, nor wonder why,

I simply look into her eyes and send love’s healing.

Will it penetrate the layers of pain? Can a miracle be

Created from a moment of simple, sweet compassion?

Expanded Version April 1, 2009

We see these human beings everyday and look away

We label them as homeless, addicts, worthless, bums

We define them as the lowly dregs of our society

I wonder is it they, or are we the ones gone astray,

Could they be souls trapped in bodies too small for them?

Souls so new or alien to Earth that they  can see the deity

Do we have it all twisted around, upside down, our way?

Perhaps it’s these homeless, addicted, dirty crumbs

That should be showered with the best of materiality

What would we learn, loving and honoring the mentally gray?

These misfits, these deranged, these lifeless human dogs

That there is much more to being, than our limited physicality?