I met a lady quite lovely

Yet outwardly some would say not

A spirit soaring with purpose

Is her spirit

Her heart

She is grateful

So grateful

But has nothing

But a wheelchair and black filled garbage bags

She lives on a sidewalk

Her home

Her place of belonging

And she wrecked my life

Simply wrecked me

The smell of meeting her

Followed me for days

Not a stink

But the smell of her grooming

Her fighting off the germs

That living on the street she encountered

She is the product of genetics

Lost her legs

But not her hope

Lost her home

But not her heart

She has eyes

And oh can she see

Better than most of us

Who lay in warm bed at night

Eat at a table

Bathe in a tub

She bathes in bleach

She bathes in the heat of the day

She bathes in her trust

In the Savior

Who is her hope

Her song

Her home

Every day I pass her

As I hurry along to my life

And I wonder

Is this what it’s all about?

This scurry

This schedule

This

This way of living

That plans for tomorrow

Takes for granted today

Tucks in bed at night

Brushes teeth

Washes hair

What of her?

Sleeping in her chair on the sidewalk

What is her nighttime?

What’s in her darkness?

Wrecked is all I can say

Wrecked