Just walk on by, important matters wait
and this poor shaking hand with paper cup
will stay so close, though bent with shuffling gait,
a brief delay will trip your conscious up.

Just drop some coins, loose trifling chips unspent,
and this unkempt but living game is done.
The beggar has the means to seem content,
the helper feels that charity has won.

Just listen close, that soul is struggling hard
and his weak grasp, still clutching life's debris,
will pull with every glimpse of past deep scarred
your own sharp needs from which you need be free.

The kind do not ignore the ones in need
despite the ups that creep and downs that speed.

- Robert Stone, 28 October 2012