The Beggar and the Giver (A Poem)

A taste of honey,

A walk down ocean parkway,
The breeze on the boardwalk,
The chirping of the early morning birds,
The world speaks to me,
Through it’s rhythm & rhyme.

In return I give thanks,
Gratitude & greatness,
When I see in passing,
A man in need,
I stop to give a dollar,
Or at least a cigarette or two.
Cause at that point,
When you’ve lost all hope,
I mean, who’s trying to quit anyway?

The people who’ve been there,
They know.
Lecturing the weak, judging the world...
Won’t get us closer to a beautiful ending.
The need for help remains,
But only with empathy, not apathetic judgment.
Be intuitive. Try to see from the other person’s eyes.
Remember there’s a reason, why that man is asking you for help,
Or the woman on the floor,
Sitting with a sign,
That reads, 5 months pregnant & nowhere to live.
In my perfect little world I forget sometimes,
The depth & despair going on right around me.
The disparity, can mislead me,
Take me down a path of remorse,
That somehow I’m not good enough,
That the world around me kicks me to the curb,
Or that god is like a high school bully.

But let me reflect for a minute,
Let’s look back at how far we’ve come.
Let’s be grateful for those moments of ease,
The moments of success,
Lack of stress and tranquility. . .

The moments that we take for granted may just be the best moments of our lives. So let’s cherish each moment, and live life for the beauty & plight of each and every moment as we walk through the day... 

-Joseph Rothvogel