The Beggar: I Need A Dollar Poem by Paula Glynn

Walking to the rock star's mansion
The beggar knocks on the opulent door
Begging for mercy and begging for food
Expecting a mere glass of water
To quench his neverending thirst
The falsely charming building with money fit to burst.

Bank accounts full of millions of dollars
Rock stars raking in endless blood money
Watching the poor beg for mercy
Beg for new black leather shoes
That don't let in snow or rain
The poor of society with the lottery their only hope.

The beggar getting no food or water
In spite of his obvious need
To be fully nourished by a regular church feed
But that rock star does not proceed
Turning away the dirty and mucky beggar
Laughing as the mansion doors close on those in need.

The beggar now walking miles into town
To find people judgmental about his rags
With a scornful and patronizing frown
He begs for a mere dollar over and over again
Without explaining why to everyone that passes him
Yet one woman sees his suffering and she does try.

Her kind nature and citizen of the church
Stops her turning him away into the cold
She feeds him a big meal and a glass of water
Also giving him a new pair of black boots
With no expectation of a reward
She helps him too by giving him one dollar.

The next day the newspapers are all full of news:
A beggar has won 300 million dollars on the lottery
He now is freshly shaven and clean
No longer a beggar or a has been
And he comes to his good Samaritan
With a substantial reward:

'You gave me food and water
You gave me new boots without judging me
You had little yet gave me lots
You didn't turn me away because of costs
I am a new man because of you
And now I am free of begging to start anew.'

The rock star left in limbo: God knowing his greed
Having had forgotten his selfish ways
Having had forgotten his selfish greed
Having had forgotten his selfish pride
Now cursing his terrible mistakes:
One the day he turned away a vulnerable beggar.

Where the once beggar is now married: their story of true love
Where she learns of his torturous past
And how he became a beggar for a few years
But God visited him with the winning lottery numbers
The one dollar she gave him helping him pay for his ticket
Buying the golden ticket a win for an angel once a beggar.