LAZARUS, OUTSIDE
MY OFFICE BUILDING

Hungry, starving….
It’s lunch break at work.
I walk out – past a bum,
sitting on the sidewalk.
He’s there every day;
but I stopped seeing him
about two months ago.
He’s always there – litter,
an empty bag flattened out
on the street – a helluva
place to park one’s bones.
He shakes his Styrofoam cup
begging for money.
I no longer hear his muted voice,
“Have pity on me!
Dip the tip of your finger
into your wallet and give
me a dollar – or some change.

Hungry. Starving.”
He disappeared. Did he die?
Is he on some other corner?
I died – and nobody said
at my eulogy, “He could
never go by a beggar on a
corner – without stopping
to give a dollar or some change.”
Now I wish I did – or someone
else did – because this is
a helluva way to be.





© Andy Costello, Reflections 2010 - This is poetic reflection for today's gospel, Luke 16:19-31, "The Rich Man and Lazarus."