Angels Among Us 

As a child I once was walking 

And I held my grandma’s hand 

Up ahead on the corner 

We saw a beggar man. 

His clothes were dirty and ragged

You could smell him for a mile

He sweated as he held his cup

He’d been there a long while. 

“Here’s a dollar, son.” Mammaw said,

“Go put it in his cup,

So that tonight that there man 

Might eat a bite and sup.”

I said, “Why mammaw, he’s a drunkard

He’ll just spend it all on wine.”

She said “well I’ll just tell you 

If he does that’ll be just fine. 

Perhaps that man you see there

Could use some joy in his life 

A chance to escape 

From this world of pain and strife. 

Perhaps some day, I tell you 

When you’re as old as I am 

You’ll not judge too harshly 

His need for a dram. 

You can’t go by appearance 

To judge a man his worth 

For you may be entertaining 

Disguised angels on this earth.”

As I’ve gotten older 

I look back on what mammaw said 

And I no longer ask

“Do I give for wine or bread?”

And now I understand

A new dimension to the test

It’s that it doesn’t matter 

If I’m feeding bum or blessed. 

I reckon what really matters 

Is that we do the best we can

And that we share with love 

When we share with our fellow man. 

‘Cause love, you know is worthless 

Unless you give it away 

And generally it comes back

To you again some day. 

So, don’t bother searching angels 

And wondering if “ he’s one”

Live so that someone may call you an angel 

When your time on earth is done.