The Kind Man Poem by David Ritter

Joe sat in his gloomy, dark cell,
Staring at the black walls of stone.
When a recurring thought of her
Reminded him he was alone.
Because she no longer loved him,
Joe felt like he had lost all hope.
He snatched a dirty sheet off his bunk
To carefully fashion a rope.

But before such drastic measures,
Joe needed to know for sure.
Perhaps she cared enough to write;
Then maybe his heart could endure.
So he waited day after day,
As the long months slowly passed by.
At the end of each wretched night,
Joe found more reasons to die.
'Cause not only did she not write,
But his friends were also long gone.
When the mail passed by his cell,
Joe had not a letter, not one.

Feeling forgotten and all alone,
Joe no longer wanted to wait.
A calendar hung on the wall;
He decided to choose a date.
It was the month of December,
Christmas Day was a week away.
Joe thought, "I'll help them remember, "
And he circled the 25th day.

With the holiday forthcoming,
Never once did Joe have a doubt.
The best time to fulfill his wish
Was 10 p.m., after lights out.
Joe went about his business
As the chosen day did arrive.
Nobody had the slightest clue
That soon he would not be alive.

Joe walked into the dining hall,
Then settled down to eat his chow.
Suddenly, he heard a voice say,
"You can go to heaven, know how? "
Joe looked up from his half-eaten tray,
And sitting straight across from him
Was a kind man who spoke the words,
Then once again repeated them.
"You can go to heaven, know how? "
He remarked with a peaceful smile.
"If you're interested at all,
Church starts in a little while."

Joe nodded with a solemn frown,
Knowing all the bad he had done.
Then asked, "Will you be at the service? "
The man said, "I never miss one! "
The kind man rose up and added,
"Make sure that you're not late.
They're having a birthday party;
The celebration starts at eight."

Joe rushed back to his dreary cell,
Stretched out upon the harsh bed,
And could not stop thinking about
Everything the kind man said.
It was unusual, he thought,
"I've never seen the man before, "
But still decided he would go,
An invite he could not ignore.

At 8 p.m., Joe strolled into church
And started to look all around
For the friend he met earlier,
Yet he was nowhere to be found.
Disappointment set in again,
Because the kind man was not there.
A disinclined Joe marched to the back
And found refuge in an empty chair.

Frustrated, he wanted to leave
Before the service was to start,
But the music started playing
To the depths of Joe's sullen heart.
As the sweet melody subsided,
A gent stood up, called Preacher Dave,
Who began telling the story
Of a brave Baby born to save.

When this precious Child matured,
He healed the sick and gave sight to the blind,
And courageously died on the cross
For the sins of all mankind.
All can come to Him in prayer
For forgiveness of all sin.
If they would open up their hearts,
A loving Savior would come in.

The most wonderful thing Joe heard
Was about learning how to be set free.
One day, he could go to heaven
And live for all eternity!

The story was so interesting,
Holding Joe's full attention.
When Preacher Dave finished preaching,
He gave out an invitation.
Gradually, Joe worked up the courage,
Although he was somewhat afraid,
And stepped forward to accept Jesus,
The wisest choice he ever made.

After the service was over,
An inmate handed Dave a gift
And announced, "Merry Christmas, Preacher.
I hope it gives your heart a lift! "
It was a portrait of Jesus
That the inmate proudly painted.
When the pleased preacher held it up,
A shocked Joe nearly fainted.

The image stroked on canvas,
In this inmate's own style,
Was no other than Joe's kind man,
Wearing an ever-peaceful smile!