Kindness of Strangers

Old woman, stranger

in a foreign land,

sits on unforgiving ground,

as the world walks straight on by.

Delivering a well worn line,

She looks you in the eye,

“Hello, Big Issue lady?”

She knows you won’t reply.

Unnoticed by the hurried mass,

all hungry for a bargain,

one man goes against the tide,

makes this faceless woman, human.

“Hi, how are you today?” he asks,

cups her hand in his

and holds it tightly, before

dropping a coin in her tin.

Maybe, just for a moment,

She sees the face of God

in the kindness of a stranger,

and knows she is not forsaken.