Only In The Winter

Why is it only in the winter that we notice them? The vulnerable on our streets, the runaways and those who have lost their way. They are there all year around in their cardboard houses the places they call home. Why is it only in the winter that we finally become aware? In the big cities, they are everywhere. When the city goes to sleep some huddle in doorway shelters, where they sleep covered in newspaper blankets just to keep them warm. Why is it only in the winter we want to notice them? They are there through all the four seasons, yet it is only in the winter their plight becomes newsworthy. What happened to spring summer and fall? Don’t those seasons count at all. They are still vulnerable in whatever season comes to call, the runaways and those who have lost their way. Why is it only in the winter that we open our blind eyes to the plight of these vulnerable lives? Sadly, to a lot of us it is only in the winter and its freezing chills that we suddenly realize those less fortunate than ourselves. However, they are there everyday of every year and not just only in the winter. 15 December 2009