Robert Service: Compassion
For God knows it is good to give;
We may not have so long to live,
So if we can,
Let’s do each day a kindly deed,
And stretch a hand to those in need,
Bird, beast or man.
Michael Simms: Jesus
Sixteen and running
From my father’s fists
I once tried to jump on a moving train
Jose Padua: Union Square
their crazy dad, his singular
song, with the only people putting money
in his cup looking as crazy as he did
Video: Buskers
Buskers is the story of Packo, a young Dubliner, and Milos, a Romanian immigrant, who battle to secure a space to beg at a Dublin train station. After a comical … Continue reading
John Lawson: Climax of a Story Never Told
It’s true: he and his blanket have grown old together here in the corner of the Episcopal church parking lot.
Deborah Bogen: Homeless Box
Sometimes we cross to the other side to get away from their carts and tarps, to avoid their dirty murky faces, but mostly we look through them, past them, above them, our eyes seeking the sanctuary of the shiny store windows.
Bill Traylor: Sidewalk Genius
Born into slavery, Traylor spent the majority of his life after emancipation as a sharecropper. It was only after 1939, following his move to Montgomery, Alabama that Traylor began to draw. At the age of 85, he took up a pencil and a scrap of cardboard to document his recollections and observations. From 1939 to 1942, while working on the sidewalks of Montgomery, Traylor produced nearly 1,500 pieces of art.
Philip F. Clark: The Beggar’s Welcome
He stopped and asked if I could spare some change. I thought, Oh yes, I could spare so much: another job, a new home, other clothes, better weather, more chances, … Continue reading
Carolyn Gregory: Leper
She wears her hat on her sleeve, bleeding badge of all she has suffered, arrow piercing the aorta when she lives out here. The alley becomes her nest in a … Continue reading
Video: Homeless man shares his composition on the piano
Ryan, a man who has been living on the street for 30 years, plays the piano outside in downtown Edmonton, in Churchill Square. He is self-taught. … Continue reading
Vox Populi 