RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS
Kindness of Strangers
I remember small towns
Where common folks wore smiles
And welcomed you with kindness
Where nothing ever riled
As if they knew your heart
And found it filled with joy
They’d walk with you for miles
Just to show you the best way
Where all the girls and boys
Greeted you like a movie star
And begged for you to play
You’d think: they’re being coy
But they like the way you are
And they wish that you would stay
Another day it’s not that far
Those days are now gone
Like a calm before a storm
Like a wish for blowing candles out
Like the chill after a warm
People greet you with suspicion
And a strong measure of doubt
As if they know by intuition
Are you with them or agin them?
You’re agin them by and by
Unless you know what they’re about
And so we go our separate ways
Never knowing how or why
We became so lonely and alone
So estranged and so disturbed
Always gazing at the phone
Never trusting what you’ve heard
Never giving a kind word
To strangers in your town
Who do not know the way around
