The street guy
used to sleep outside the shop.
Then he disappeared.
I thought maybe he’d gone to get help.
But now he’s back.
He doesn’t seem to be drinking as much,
but he’s limping,
a little more with every passing day.
And he doesn’t look good.
He says hello more often now.
But he’s not looking for money,
or anything like that.
Never was.
I think he’s just hoping,
for someone to say hello back.
To feel human. To feel seen.
To know he’s not apart from us,
but among us.
Some people walk paths harder than ours.
Their lives are shaped by struggles we may never see.
The least we can do
is offer a stepping stone along the way.
A small kindness, a hand, a simple hello,
it can help ease their journey.
After all,
we’re all walking toward the same horizon.
