The Charitable Act

As I sat wearily
Inside my shack,
Hungry, tired,
Cold and black
A woman drove up
In a shiny white car
And said sweetly
“I’m here to help, yeah”

She stood in the sun
And flashed me a smile,
While I sat in the shadow
Musing a-while,
What on earth lay beneath
Her pearly white teeth
Manicured fingers
And pedicured feet

Did she really, truly,
Own me as brother?
Or was I simply
Just another
Statistic
On her welfare sheet,
Someone un-fortunate
She’d help to eat

Could have called her in,
But there was no door
And my wife and I,
We slept on the floor
As to a place to sit:
Where?
In all of our shack
There wasn’t a chair

So I sat where I was
As she babbled along
Platitudes, kind words,
Like a forgotten song?
Then she left, leaving
Some cash in our room
And the unknown scent
Of a strange perfume

Thanks lady, this cash
Will last us a while
And truly, honestly
Make my old lady smile
And though we’ll never
Ever, meet again
I pray this act
Has lessened your pain

Dolan Fernandes
2008