Poem - Homeless - How does this effect your emotions?

[DonnaEdgar]

Homeless
by donna edgar, 2013

I heard on the news today about a homeless man that passed away.
Sweeping sidewalks and taking hand-outs was his only means and pay.
Old Jim always had a smile,
His soft words and manners, mild.
He'd said "God bless you", when given a coin or two,
and was quick to share whatever he had with more than just a few.
He would never say an angry word to those who passed him by,
but his lips would move as in a prayer, then he'd look upward and sigh.
Jim's body was discovered this morning by a policeman making his rounds,
and from an old pocket bible he read a note that fell to the ground;

"I'm not homeless any more; don't count me among the poor.
I'm Heaven bound to walk on crystal shores.
I won't need no shoes, no bed. Just a crown upon my head.
I'm walking on streets of gold like Jesus said.
I won't feel the rain or cold, I'll embrace the Saints of old,
These dirty rags will then be white as snow.
I won't hunger, I won't thrist. You see, I've put my Savior first.
This old man has had a brand new birth.'

He wrote these words with his last breath; he had the victory
over death.
As the news anchor wept, the other got up and left.
The weather man knelt down to pray, no one knew quite
what to say. Except; Old Jim is far from poor; he's not homeless any more.

[jo555]

Love it Donna.

It reminded me of the times I've been at a low, and a humble reminder on how one can respond to such circumstances.

Speaking for myself. I can't say it played much with my emotions, but that's not a bad thing.

I can enjoy a good read that effects one's emotions, and even those that may effect them deeply, but I can also gain a lot from the one's that don't do that much as they offer other valuable things.

This is something I contemplated with the first book I wrote. As I said, I can enjoy a read that effects one emotionally and I know that can be popular as everyone likes to connect on a deeper level, but I didn't just want to play that card. I had a lot of ground I wanted to cover and although I was hoping others can relate on one level or another, I decided to go more with the message(s) I was looking to relay.

I don't always feel emotionally attached to scriptures, but with time and with things I go through, I can read scriptures that I read in the past that I didn't have much of an emotional connection to, and find myself emotionally effected.

And again, even though I personally wasn't that emotionally effected, I still thought it was wonderful for the treasure I saw there, and thought it was wonderfully written too.

Thanks for sharing. It's a wonderful read. Loved the story and message I took from it.

[sonyaluvsjesus]

Didn't make me overly emotional, but your words paint the picture quite well. Well done, I liked it.

[tomoral]

It touched me deeply. I am a strong advocate of the homeless, and the fact that Old Jim wasn't homeless anymore brought tears of joy to my eyes. So, yes, it touched my emotions on a good level. There are a lot of old Jim's out there, just waiting for the many mansions of their Father's house.

Loved it!

Blessings, Lynn

[DonnaEdgar]

Thank you for your comments. The poem has become a song and was sung in public for the first time March 9th, 2013. Everyone seemed to enjoy the song as some called out AMEN and I saw a few tears and raised hands and all clapped in approval when I finished singing it. My hope is that the poems / songs that I write helps someone who is lost or broken hearted. Regardless, God gets the praise and glory for it all.
Thank you, Donna

[Flowthrume]

Gave me goosebumps...the good ones always do.