00:80 by Ken

You pass him every day.
He's the Anti-hero sleeping on the street,
Asking you for spare change
To make his meager ends meet.
People scoff and people give
Out of pity, ignorance, remorse;
Without lending the time or a thought
To the purpose of his course.

He wanders through his life
And he dies ten times a day;
The blessed meet their end,
And their suffering finds its way
To the man in tattered cloth
With cheap liquor on his breath,
He's anesthesia for the soul
As he fills in for your death.

He walks through his life,
Just like he does every other day
Until his time is called;
And his soul is lead astray
Into a body, into a time:
With only 80 seconds to live.
The gift to end the suffering
Is only his to give.

Your body becomes his own
As you levitate above
And witness the true definition
Of humanity and love.
Mortality expires
And life becomes no more,
He is then carried on a moment
Back to his position on the floor

He's the 80-second man
The unsung martyr for us all,
Who tastes the bitterness of poison,
Who feels the impact of the fall.
He asks for nothing in return
Yet lingers in solitude and neglect;
So when you hand him your spare change,
Include a smile and some respect.

perika (67.209.66.137) -- Friday, January 3 2003, 07:41 pm

many of our always asked for money by these people, and some of some don't know how to react. we have many feelings, pity, embarasment and sometimes even anger. but what can you do, but this poem has a meaning to me because i live in place where they always ask, so its really uncommen to me, but now i know that i will help them out.

KitKatrina (68.113.60.103) -- Tuesday, November 4 2003, 07:41 pm

no title
Your poem was very powerful and had a nice message at the end, "Include a smile and some respect." I loved what you said and I could only agree more. Thanks for sharing your poems!

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