there by the grace of God

each corner on the main
roads
of the neighborhood
there's a man
or woman standing or
sitting there with a bucket
and a sign.
sometimes i give, sometimes
i don't.
it's a hard life, i realize.
but most are well
dressed, clean,
heavy with shelter food,
tanned from being outdoors
all day.
i can't imagine
being out there, with life
having reached that
point
of hard luck
and despair,
but one never knows, there
by the grace of God
goes all of us with
a sign a bucket
and a chair at the side of
some road.