August 26th

“The LORD watches over the strangers;
   he upholds the orphan and the widow,
   but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” Psalm 146:9

the lonely widow
finds you offering your arm
as she takes her evening walk
past the houses filled with hearts
which are closed off to her.
war’s orphans are but
a statistic or a protest image
for most of the world,
but their names are whispered
on your breath swirling around us.
like leaves drifting by until
they end up in gutters or
raked into bags to be put out
for the gatherers of trash,
strangers simply pass by us,
their faces forgotten
as the day blurs into the shadows
gathering on the lawn,
and we wonder why you
question our compassion.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman