TODAY

Today
I happened on a stranger
A youngish man
Though, grey with care
His eyes
Hopeless
An unseeing stare
He sat on a kerb
In the gutter 
By the road
Cold
Alone
Homeless
Not a soul in the world
To share his load
And I stood 
And watched him 
As life
And people
Passed him by
Invisible, he was
​​​​Disowned
By his own
Not worth a moments pause
Just another lost cause
And I fretted
What I could do
What I could say
To show him
Yes
He had been 
Seen
Noticed
To tell him that his pain
Was our shame
Not his
And I wondered
At a callous world
That allows
Precious life
To wither, curl 
And
Die inside
But who could I tell
For in this world 
Today
Compassion
Empathy
Hold no sway
(Marion price) 2017