So I passed him on the street yesterday,

He was dressed in rages, smelled like the public bathroom near a beach on a hot summer’s day.

His hair was long, I could have sworn I saw lice crawling in his ears,

His beard shaggy and gray.

He smiled when he saw,

Gave me a nice toothy grin, “Beautiful day mi’lady” he said as he gave me a mocking bow.

I smiled back politely while inside I felt awfully grim,

I know what was coming, his quick question for some spare change.

I never carry change, it’s a hindrance I find.

With the invention of debt and credit cards, there’s no need for me to carry some extra weight.

“Are you well mi’lady?” he asked.

I raised a brow, he gave me another toothy grin, “you look like you could use a smile.”

He was different I noted. He hasn’t asked me for change.

“I’m good, thank you.” I gave a curt reply.

“And you sir?”

I wondered why I asked that, usually I try to run the other away.

“I haven’t has a meal in ages.” He informed with is odd accent as he looked so very sad,

I found my heart feeling heavy as I watched his gray eyes cloud with doubt.

“I’m sorry,” I found myself saying, “I don’t carry change.”

He gave me another toothy grin as he looked frightened to ask, “Could you buy me something then?”

I looked at his face, filled with dirt, grease and dandruff speckles.

I nodded my head, after all, we all lost money all the time.

Why not buy this poor hungry man a meal.

“What would you like?”

He gave me the brightest smile I had seen in a week, “A bagel, mi’lady. With some lemonade if you could.”

I found myself smiling back as I walked into Tim Hortons to buy this man his meal.

As I walked back out the store and handed him his food, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and a “Bless you mi’lady, may god make you prosper! This is my first meal in ages.”

I thanked him for his kind words and walked away.

As I walked away my thoughts went back to the old fellow I had met.

I’m sure he would have been a jolly old man if he wasn’t living on the streets, handsome too if he were to clean himself up nice.

I wondered why I accepted his request to buy him a meal while I passed tons of other homeless individuals on the streets that very day.

Perhaps it was his toothy hair or the lice in his hair – who knew.

But one thing I do know,

In this hot summers day,

I had made a man smile.

This poem is based on a true situation which I had encountered a while ago. I had many more encounters similar to this since than, and each time the person leaves an impression on my heart. It just goes to show that a little bit on compassion goes a long way.