Christmas of the Homeless

Pushing his grocery cart with all his worldly goods
Sipping from a hot cup of coffee to fight the winter cold
His long, dirty hair, dirty body, dirty clothes smelled a bit
No place to take a bath when living in the streets

He stopped to watch a mother and child decorate
the front lawn
Memories of long ago brought tears to his eyes
Seems like yesterday; he and his mother, in the
front yard decorating the house for Christmas
It was so long ago

He wished he was home; he wished for the good times
with love, joy and laughter
Some see him as a bum; too lazy for work; some see him as
a low class, just a dirty old scum

He was once a proud man; once had loved ones, a home, a job and a car
Time gone bad, jobs lost, no money for mortgage or paying the bills
Family lost, stress and confusions set in; where did it all go wrong?

People passed by and remarked, lazy old man, should get himself a job
People passed by and frowned at him
A couple passing by handed him two dollars; he quietly thanked them
Another hot cup of coffee to help fight the cold winter night

Walking on down the street he passed a house with Christmas music
playing "Silent Night" he stopped to listen for awhile
Oh, how he wished he was home; he longed for the times when love and
family was all around
So long ago; his family no more; just a lonely old man in a lonely town

A young woman passing by handed him a ten dollar bill; he whispered
thank you
To the woman it was just extra change; to the old man it was gold in his hand
A little more to eat; more hot coffee for the cold, winter nights
People stopped to give him money; they seldom stopped to talk

So cold; so lonely; he said to himself as he pushed his cart to his sleeping place
Back of a building; close to the wall, to help block the wind and the bitter cold
He placed a dirty blanket over cardboards to lay on; another dirty blanket
from his cart to cover himself; so cold, so lonely the old man was
He thought of Christmastime past; the good times he had when love,
family and friends, did surround him
His mind wandered from the loneliness and the bitter cold;
somehow, he managed to fall asleep

Remember the homeless at Christmas time, if only in your prayers.