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HAVE YOU SEEN
ME?
Have you seen
me?
I push a cart
with my life's
treasures
enclosed in a
plastic bag.

My face is
unshaven and
dirty,
My clothes are
tattered.
There is even an
odor to me.

Your eyes lower
when we pass,
as if visual
contact would
erase my
existence.
I am here by my
own submission
to
hopelessness you
say....
You are "cartless"
by God's Grace.

I am not sure I
believe in God.
If He were real,
I would be
soaking my old
blistered feet
in a hot sudsy
tub of water.
Have you ever
seen feet like
mine?

I remember when
I was younger
reading a
bible passage
where Jesus
washed
the feet of the
men he loved.
You wouldn't
even cast your
eyes my way to
acknowledge my
feet.
I am invisible
to the likes of
the
high and mighty
who have homes.

Have you felt my
hunger?
When you say to
a friend " I'm
starved,"
do you have any
true idea of
what it means
to go without
bread for days?
My reservation
at the local
garbage dump
is always
honored,
You would be
welcome there.

Have you heard
my request for
spare change?
Your usual
answer of "I
don't have any,"
is a blatant
lie,
I wont drink it
away or shoot
up,
I just want a
cup of coffee
and a piece of
bread.

When you see me
sleeping on
cardboard with
blankets
or newspaper to
cover me do I
repulse you?
I once slept in
a king size bed
with
plaid sheets
that smelled of
downy.

When I lost my
job and my
family
had enough of my
alcoholism,
I left to free
them of my pain.
My one noble
act, cowardly as
it may be,
at least kept my
wife and child
united
without the
likes of me.

Have you ever
looked into the
face
of someone who
wonders daily,
"Is this all
there is?"
I think your
eyes won't
surrender to
my physical
image
because of fear.

I
am...YOU...maybe
tomorrow,
maybe never,
but there is
always that
possibility.

Next time look, LOOK at me.
I also am a
creature of
God..
Dirty, cold,
hungry, and
hopeless,
but I heard that
I am in the
image of God.

So next time
when those eyes
cower, look at
my feet.
Then slowly
absorb the
figure up to my
face.
I at least
deserve an
educated glance.

I pray for you
though I
question God's
existence
and hearing
abilities, for
him to
change your
heart.

Maybe someday
our eyes will
meet and you
will hand me
a hot cup of
coffee and a
sandwich.
Maybe you will
realize how
fragile having a
home
and a family are
to your journey
in life.
HAVE YOU SEEN
ME??
I HAVE SEEN YOU
I PRAY GOD WILL
FORGIVE
YOUR APATHY.
I PRAY THAT
THERE WILL BE A
SEASON OF CHANGE
AND THE
RIGHTEOUS LOVE
OF THE HOMELESS
AND HELPLESS
WILL CO EXIST.
I CHALLENGE YOUR
EYES TO SEE ME
I AM THE HUMBLE.
I AM THE
HOMELESS.

The above story
was written by a
homeless person
who had
spent the night
in a shelter
leaving this
story behind.

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