I asked a homeless man if he wanted the two tangerines hiding in my backpack. He said yes and thanked me, then asked me if I would like to have one of his poems. At first I thought to refuse, because I tend to lose papers in the bottomless pit that is my backpack until accidentally finding them one day, unrecognizable and disintegrated. Then I thought about how generous this man was being, offering me his poem, his favorite poem, so I said “sure.”
From underneath the crate he sat on, he took out a large, white plastic bag filled with pieces of paper: a pile of white papers interspersed with blue papers. After fingering through them for a while, he took out this poem:
“The Faith or the Confidence”
Perhaps everything that lives needs some faith?
The owl that sits with serious eye,
The eel that flashes in the water,
The maple that yields its branches to the sky
Perhaps all that lives needs some faith?
But this, I think is certain:
Man does — each man, each woman
That comes here
Must have some degree of faith.
To approach a day requires faith,
Enough thought or feeling to stay on.
Perhaps it can be viewed as the work of a mightier force?
God or something fateful?
But, whatever, we say, to be here in this-
Danger of life requires faith.
After he gave me this poem, he told me I can find him on YouTube. He wrote in capital letters on the blank piece of paper stapled to the poem: “ON YOUTUBE, TYPE IN DONALD GREEN.” He also wrote: “Columbia University” and “google: upTown radio, Donald Green It’s Free.”
So I did, and here’s a little about this New York Times published poet and a clip of him reciting another wonderful poem.
Since the 2008 economic collapse, I’ve noticed more and more homeless people wandering the streets of New York or trying to catch a few minutes of rest, away from our brutal winter nights, in places like Penn Station.
I can fill a book with short stories from my encounters with them, like the man who showed me his toothless gums when explaining his refusal to my offer of a bag of granola to the woman who ordered me to move from my seat on the subway platform, called me a bitch for refusing, asked me to dance with her, apologized while crying after I said “you called me a bitch and now you want me to boogie with you?!” and showed me the lesions on her arms from scratching too much, because she hadn’t been able to shower for over 40 days.
Unfortunately, I can also fill a book with stories of actions this city has taken to make these human beings invisible, from cops periodically checking passenger tickets in Penn Station’s waiting room and throwing out those without them, even though they were just trying to catch some much-needed sleep, to installing a gatekeeper at the entrance so that now only people with tickets can go in.
From the news stories I’ve read, like this The Guardian piece, our city is not the only one trying to sweep these human beings under the proverbial rug. Yet, in a city that hails itself as a world financial capital, I wonder why we can’t do as Salt Lake City, San Francisco or Vancouver has done: give homes to the homeless to help them back on their feet, offer them a place to shower and clean themselves or at the very least, make public spaces more accessible to them, so these fellow human beings can find some comfort in a place to rest.
Given the scientific literature available and definition of deliberate sleep deprivation as a form of torture, UN’s recognition that access to clean water and sanitation is a basic human right and the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger as the first of its eight Millennium Development Goals, the way we are treating our city’s homeless population is simply criminal!
We all can and must do better to help our fellow human beings regain their basic human rights. Our actions don’t have to be grandiose. They can range from simple, everyday gestures, like offering food to those who want it, to volunteering activities, such as working in soup-kitchens or shelters, to coordinating larger projects, such as asking your place of work to distribute their extra food (i.e., restaurants, catering venues), clothing (fashion brands that destroy extra stock at the end of the season), or groceries to shelters or charity organizations whose mission is to help the homeless. If you’re more ambitious and have the resource and time to devote to it, you can also start a nonprofit of your own, such as Lava Mae with their mobile buses that provide showers or From the Sole, which offers free shoes and other needed items to the homeless.
There’s been countless articles written about the loneliness this city engenders. Maybe if we resolve to be kinder toward each other, to help each other instead of just helping ourselves, we would not only benefit society at large, but also form more connections with one another and feel less lonely as a result.
Chronicles of a Non-profit: 