To live on these streets <br />You have to mask your intentions, <br />Avoid the drugs that bring despair and defeat, <br />Not judge anyone drifting <br />Into bad luck and loneliness. <br /> <br />The streetlights and neon signs <br />Have a pensive glow <br />But the homeless saints <br />With random smiles <br />Preserve the slightest hope. <br /> <br />I’ve seen the children <br />In paint-peeling houses <br />Show kindness to everyone they meet. <br /> <br />I’ve had people die at my feet <br />Just hours before the dawn <br />In my beloved Detroit, <br />But I knew God was watching <br />In the dark starless sky <br />Trying to keep us all alive.<br /><br />Uriah Hamilton<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-live-on-these-streets/
