A Poem-A-Day Celebration

Poem submission by Enrique Rosas

A man came for a job
His English was okay
And his dress was tidy.
He was not slow,
He checked often for full garbage bags,
He walked back and forth
And asked if there was something else he could do

He was here for two days
The excuse for him being fired was,
He did not sweep or mop properly.

Really? Is that so?
Well then how come others have stayed,
Yet he had to go?
This is foolish to me.
The only reason I see
For him being fired
Is that he couldn’t see with one eye
It was dry and looked bad.
This is why he was fired.

So I saw him just now…
And his figure caused me great pain inside.
For I saw him walk by, well dressed,
But with heaviness for he has not a job.
So he walked down the street
To continue his search
For a place that will hire
A man who is blind in one eye.
For when people look at him
All they see is his eye.
They do not see his good posture,
Or his well ironed clothes.
They don’t hear his good accent
They don’t see his hard work.
They just see his dead eye.

But it is them who are blind.
For who are they, who are you, who am I
To judge a man who cannot see with one eye.
For his hard work should speak
Not his one shaded eye.
It is him who can speak
For his eye may not see,
But then again, there is not much to see
In a world such as this.
So when you see a blind man
You should see not his eyes.

If he is begging,
Do not look at the cup he is holding
For the generous tips of those who behold him
And truly do pity his poor blind condition.
Because truly, who will give him a job?
They won’t hire a man with one eye
So how will they hire one with no eyes?
You should see who he is on the inside.
You should see that he’s not give up.
And while you may complain that your life is too hard
Try to think of their day
Try to envision their life.
I guarantee you
You will  move aside
The next time you see a blind man walking by.
And you will move,
Not because he needs to pass by,
You will move to respect him
And the burden he hides.