Homeless Feet

A Poem By Patricia Montesano

I’ve walked through trash and dirt and sorrow
Wandered through nowhere towards tomorrow
My feet are hurting, cracked and sore
My home is the street, the pavement my floor
I don’t recall how homeless began
I don’t remember from what I ran
But I do recall the constant pain
of cold and hunger, rejection and rain

I remember my mother tickling my toes
singing me songs and wiping my nose
smiling at me in her warm embrace
and cheering me on in the first-grade race

Those same feet now slowly shuffle along
from days of endurance through nights that are long
to mornings of hope glimmering through
as I wander again in old worn-out shoes
My socks get embedded into my feet
from weeks of walking on hard city streets
encouraged by warmth of soup kitchen meals
unable to talk of the pain that I feel

I remember the smile on my mother’s face
in the time I was loved in my childhood place
when I was secure in the arms of love
my feet gently washed and lovingly rubbed

Today, how I long simply for socks
to give me some comfort walking long blocks
Today I pray that my feet will not bleed
as I struggle to cross the wide busy streets
I pray for some water, kind words to be said
for compassion and care for my feet that have bled
A cup of hot coffee to warm my chapped hands
that once held tightly ...bright coloring crayons

I remember happiness in my heart
in the childhood home of my first-step start
Where I was anointed by love so complete
Before I began my life on the streets

I haven’t lost hope; I still live in prayer
I believe in God’s presence everywhere
I believe in Jesus, and I know we will meet
In recognition of homeless feet

By Patricia C. Montesano, March 24, 2005
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