I met Bob for the first time
Four long years ago
He had a car then
He walked slow but deliberate
His hair cut, washed and combed
In his Sunday best
He always left a tip
A big smile, a friendly personality
He was the luckiest man alive.
He disappeared for a while.
He returned without a car
Without a hair cut
His clothes more tattered
Pushing a walker laden with his life
His body more frail, his smile more crooked
Still he would tell you whether you asked or not
He was the luckiest man alive
He told me his story one day
Parts at least
He had been hit by a drunk driver
He had been in a coma
Woke up, unable to walk
His wife deserted him
His new life was hard work
But he was alive
he learned to walk again.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses had been there
And every Sunday he tries to make church
Whenever he possibly can
God has blessed him
He is the luckiest man alive.
He pushes his walker, sometimes attempting to run
Across a street or along the highway
His legs barely working
He has almost gotten hit
Too many times to mention.
He told me the worst part
Was never feeling clean.
I saw him pee by the side of the road once
The bathroom too far to go.
He always tells me, he tells us all
He is the luckiest man alive
Once I found him asleep on the sidewalk
He looked dead
The police came, they knew him well
He had walked too far and just couldn’t go on
They shewed him away
Sent him down the highway
He struggled to stand
But he made it a ways
Bob never gives up
Never gets upset
He is the luckiest man alive
He lives in whatever parking lot he can
Tries to be a good citizen
Cockroaches fall from his bags
He has a tarp for when it rains
People buy him food sometimes
He smiles and chats
His hair long and tangled
No one really cares, no one really helps
But Bob will tell you
He will always tell you
He is the luckiest man alive.
I wish I could help him, take him in
Help him find warmth and love and safety
But each day, he struggles along
Alone
Step by careful step
One long day into the next
He is a good man, a kind man,
He tells us all
Anyone that will listen
He is the luckiest man alive
I believe he means it too.