Georgia Wong, Heroes, 2017
To the person I saw on the streets today:
You won't remember me.
After all,
I looked you in the eye for
A matter of a split second.
But I saw so much.
I saw your weathered face
Tanned by the sun and your skin
Made tough by however many years
You have been sleeping underneath the stars.
I saw the rip in your jacket and your calloused hands.
And I saw the courage you had
To sit there day after day
In the public eye
Open to whatever
Look
Head turn
Snigger
Might come your way.
I saw your kindness too.
I knew that when someone put
A little money in your
Sun-bleached bucket
The skin around your eyes would
Crinkle because you smiled
And I knew you meant it
When you gripped their hand and said
"thank you"
Now, I realise that today, a stereotypical hero
Has to do something 'phenomenal'
Like save someone's life
But to save someone's life
You have to be two things:
Brave
And kind.
And for me that's what being a hero is.
So, to the homeless person I saw on the streets today:
You're my hero.