Cathedral Doors

‘Give with good grace,
thanking your stars
that your state is not such as this poor beggar.’

This is Ruskin’s caution
but I do not give gladly—or at all

What do I fear?
Robbery? This broken thing
will steal my purse?

Futile to give a coin
to those fallen from the web
forms curled sleeping
on the frozen streets.

Stopped at a Traffic Island

But I do not give gladly
recoiling from the outstretched
dirty palm
the shapeless slept-in clothes
the urgent need

The sign “Homeless,
sick children, hungry”
churns my mute revulsion

Eyes averted, I wait
for the light to change,
drive away
the sign echoing in my head

The road encircles the island
where she stands
waiting for mercy
for a reprieve
to fall from the sky.


Lari Smith

Give with good grace,
thanking your stars
that your state is not such as this poor beggar.
-Ruskin