Still the Rain Falls

                                                                        -For Berkeley

            The Rain is falling steadily down on his head.  Looking up, you can see tears falling from the sky, and following these tears down to earth your eye falls on the head of an aged, dirty man with a thick coat.  Frustrated you may ignore the man as you walk along the street to shelter, sheets of cold water falling on your face.  He touches your leg, and you jump back in fright, ignoring the gesture he makes towards you.  His sign reads: “Please help need food.”  You tell yourself that he will just use the money for drugs, justifying walking by him even though your fingers are playing with the money in your pocket. 

            “Do not fear that others will hurt you, rather fear that you may hurt others,” the  homeless man mumbles this constantly.  Crazy ravings of a forgotten mind that is all.  Now a couple of skater kids walk by him “Do not fear that others will hurt you, rather fear that you may hurt others,” says the old man and then promptly asks the kids for money.  One of the boys kicks over the old man’s jar labeled “Money” and the others laugh.  They walk passed him without feeling the least bit of remorse as the old man shakes his head. 

            Here come a couple of hipsters.  The old man mumbles his signature phrase, and both the trendy hipsters turn their aviator sunglasses towards the poor man.  “That was deep,” says one of them.  They both give the old man a dollar for his hip phrasing without the old man asking for anything.  It seems they love the phrase for its aesthetic appeal.  Nothing sinks in or is used for practical purposes.  Just like the sunglasses they wear at night, the thin scarves that provide no real warmth and the faux pockets on their leather jackets, the phrase is a non-practical statement that is meaningless.  The homeless man shakes his head.