BY THE WAYSIDE

I saw your face behind a handmade sign that read, “pray for the homeless”

I saw you huddled in a park with nothing to do

I saw a mangled bike strewn along the side of the lonely highway and thought of you and wondered if you had made it home.

I saw your shadow among the long food line at the church with nothing much to say.

I passed you on the street and swore I heard you silently pray.

I saw you scurry into the woods as the darkness covered the sky

In an instant you were hidden as the law went by.

I sought for you in the highway and the by-way.

I never caught your real name just the one given you one day.

It wasn’t my intention to send you on your rounds again.

I only wanted to spend a little time to learn where we might begin.

Omar J. Callega.