It was midnight, and I was restless. I drove into the city, listening to Mozart, heater on; comfort. I thought about waking up, wrapped up in my doona; also comfort. Yet somehow not. I have been thinking a lot about the homeless. The cold Winter around the cold city around the cold hearts of us, walking by the cold ones with no warmth, no shelter, no visibility...I decided to find a homeless person and take them for a good meal and chat, to discover more, to see with eyes that are open, to hear what my heart is saying. And yet, though I walked and I walked, I found no one. At one point I did see a Chinese man standing still in an alley, back to the wall, looking my way. He had a hooded parker pulled tight around his face, jeans that were rolled up inside out around his ankles, and a carry bag on the ground beside him. We locked eyes, yet nothing passed between us. I walked on, I wondered, who was he. I wish I was more bold. I wish I could overcome the barriers between me and the others. I know a place where there are no barriers. Hope is born on the lips of those that utter it. Boldness commeth, this way my way, I pray.
I stopped in a cafe, and had my meal. It was busy. But why? I know why I was out at this hour. What was the Monday night prompting for these others? I sat and observed. A couple sat down beside me and started to chat, my ears open. What did they chat about? They chatted of the homeless.
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