Did You...

Did you see that man on the street,
Painted in filth without shoes on his feet?
Did he ask you for money and did you read his sign
That said he served our country one time?
Did you give him a dollar, or even five?
And did you feel your heart swell with pride?
Did you wonder what he’d buy to eat
And wished you could put shoes upon his feet?
Did you secretly hope that you set an example
As your children watched you do what you could do?
Did you smile at him as he nodded in thanks
And did you feel that tear as your heart strings were yanked?
Did you notice the man and that all his belongings
Fit into one bag as he began walking?
Did your eyes follow as he went on his way
And did you watch what he did with those few dollars that day?
Did you know that he went to the store that was close
But not to buy food, for which you had hoped.
Did you know that he walked to the counter instead
And asked for some matches and Marlboro Red?
Does that make you feel sad and just like a fool
Because you gave to a man that didn’t buy food?
Did you have to hear the “I told you so’s”
From people that never gave to a soul?
Did you feel the embarrassment and all of the shame
Because you gave to a man that has no name?
Did you say to yourself "that’s the last time I'll help"
Because you can’t deal with the ridicule dealt?
Did you stop to think how that lonely man feels
When he has to buy cigarettes in place of his meals?
Did it ever occur to you that he smokes for a reason
That it curbs his appetite during the hunger season?
Di Nd it cross your mind that to him it seems
That his own death is what he wants to bring?
Did you ever realize that we really don’t know
What it must be like to sleep in the snow?
Did you tell your critics it’s not right to judge
And that God does not ever hold a grudge?
Did you tell them the value and the joy in living
Is all in the rewards we receive from giving.
Did you know that God doesn’t care what he bought
And that He doesn’t care what your critics thought.
Did you know that that veteran was not just a man
Because before you that day, Jesus did stand.

Gretchen France
6/11/01