panhandlers

must there be a gaping wound

with flowing blood?

must our cheeks be streaked with tears?

must  we stagger and fall?

then must we crawl before someone

reaches out a helping hand?

how obvious must the truth be?

how blatant the wrong?

when what is apparent is lost in the lie

we all become victims

of the desperation we seek to ignore.

for in making beggars of the desperate,

we become the ones truly in need.

Barry DeCarli

January 23, 1980

Charleston, SC

©2014 Barry DeCarli