Asked me for money
"I'm hungry-"
my heart,
hardened with pseudo-beggars
hanging out/side
said No
Then, recalling single
banana in my bag
& while grappling with in/decision
my train arrives
(no-skipping-nor-playing-hooting)
the moment
like
teardrop,
flashing bird-wings,
falling cherry bloom
is lost-
Credit here
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Quadrille - a post in 44 words exactly with the word SKIP. I am back after a short break ~ Thanks for the visit ~
What amazing and special this poem Grace!
ReplyDeleteThis is very thought-provoking. I wish I could be in the moment at times like this, but my mind is usually charging ahead, and I miss it.
ReplyDeleteYes, the moments can be lost - next time, it'll be different. Excellent poem.
ReplyDeleteI always, always give something if somebody begs me ... a dollar, a sandwich, a smoke, a smile, an open mind, even if I know they are lying, it does not matter ... always give, when asked, hmmm? ... unless you like to read obituaries ... because you never know what is going on someone else's life ... Love, cat.
ReplyDelete... visit my travel blog, if U like, friend Grace ... it's posted on each and every one of my posts at the very end ... Love, cat.
DeleteThanks Cat ~ I like giving too but there's a lot of people begging around the stations, including young able young men ~ I suspect some of them are professional beggars, but the old man...I regret not giving my lunch quickly enough (more than just a banana) ~ Thanks for your thoughtful comments ~
Deleteisiting my daughter in Vic, BC is always, when I am most in the giving mode, friend Grace ... I do not ask questions ... I just give if someone asks ... if I suspect drug abuse, I give sandwiches ... smiles ... btw, I saw a young man eating out of garbage cans ... and when I approached him and offered financial help, he told me in no uncertain terms to F...off, which I promptly did ... Ergo: Do not help if not asked, only help, when asked. Anyway, Love, cat.
Delete"visiting" I meant to say ... I hate spelling mistakes ... smiles ...
DeleteI really admire the structure here. How the lines are breaking, and how this helps tell your story.
ReplyDeleteI could relate to this. This line really spoke to my heart: "my heart, / hardened with pseudo-beggars." I don't want a hardened heart, but it's hard sometimes not to get that way in this world of ours.
ReplyDeleteSo much love for this:
ReplyDelete"the moment
like
teardrop,
flashing bird-wings,
falling cherry bloom (is lost)
There are so many such moments. How we wish we had a rewind button.
Rewind button....I like this De ~
DeleteLovely and thought provoking.
ReplyDelete"said No
ReplyDeleteThen, recalling single
banana in my bag
& while grappling with in/decision"
and the subway train doors open and the moment of grace is gone.
Wonderful poem -- it takes but a moment -- and too often we let them slip by.
I given to some and not to others...it is an in-the-moment kind of thing and I too have thought about some that I haven't given to. Thought provoking, Grace.
ReplyDeleteahh, such a heartwrenching story and you tell it so well. this is an exquisitely captured moment.
ReplyDeleteIt's those little opportunities skipped that we later regret...i understand that "grappling with in/decision". A thoughtful write...
ReplyDeleteI gave my lunch once. The guy threw it on the ground and kicked it. He wanted money for wine or cigs or drugs I suppose. But I do so like that line, "the moment like teardrop"....I like your form on this too. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteyou've told a powerful story in just 44 words
ReplyDeleteOh so sad....your closing lines are so good they gave me goosebumps. Really good, Grace.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many beggars coming to Stockholm from other parts of Europe, so my heart has hardened... If I could I would give them food...
ReplyDeleteThe perpetual dilemma of our global culture--be thoughtlessly kind or react from the embers of anger (frustration-doubt)then the moment passes; until the next time.
ReplyDeleteI wonder at times if a panhandler were asked to empty their "pockets" if we'd find that not only was there no reason for them to claim hunger, but the roll wasn't big enough to buy lunch for every person within 100 yards.
The dichotomy of wanting to be kind or inadvertently abetting the con artists that proliferate everywhere the general public must be.
I love your take on this week's quadrille, Grace. Whenever I see a beggar, which is rare where I live, but when I go into Norwich or London, I always think, that could have been me.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard not to think of them as trying to pull one over on you at times.
ReplyDeleteThere's always another time because hunger never ends
ReplyDeleteSo poignant, Grace. Wonderful close.
ReplyDeletesMIles.. so many
ReplyDeleteinvisible disabilities
that folks
skip
to see..
To judge
human by
cover.. as
somenows
strongest
looking is weakest
and weakest looking
is strongest.. and
diseases of
the mind
are often
totally
invisible..
one of the most
difficult things in life
is having an invisible
disability and it is most
often the
homeless
who have
been
dropped
out and outcast
from their families
for this very reason..
And sadly it is often
those with homes
who have
no REAL
home
at all....
a game oF
togeTheR iT iS..
whether wE see iT or
not.. aS
mY frEnd..
my greaTest
gift was pain..
more than most can
even imagine beyond hell
then.. as it truly grew Love
that sees no covers.. or limit..:)
the moment
ReplyDeletelike
teardrop,
flashing bird-wings,
falling cherry bloom
is lost-
I know this feeling so well--I have a hard time passing by without a pang.
Oh dear. I have had something similar happen – so inured to the advice about not facilitating people's drug habits that I missed a chance to do real good to someone in real need. But we'll pay more attention in future, won't we?
ReplyDelete