I gave all the change in my pockets to a homeless man,

but I can tell that I changed nothing.

The people around me shoot him glares,

the culture around him rejects his entity.

We keep giving him money as if to substitute respect,

as if those were common ingredients to switch around in a recipe.

 

How do we truly empty out our pockets to provide change,

when we forget the necessities that, yes, everyone, needs for living?

First thing to change is to remember that we,

all people, are human beings.

We have to look at each person straight in the eye

and believe in our worth and individuality.

 

We need courage to face the full blunt of life,

to fight the destruction of prejudice for the right for all to be happy

We should abandon trivial matters that weigh us down,

since all but love and compassion for others, are small, worthless pennies.

We stand up for ourselves by showing that each person is a ten,

even if we have to throw dimes at the nonbelievers for them to feel our fury.

 

We are locked in close quarters in a system that abuses us.

No longer can we ignore the effects, stay numb, or pretend we are not angry.

Thomas Jefferson on the nickel told Lewis and Clark to go on an expedition

to scope the new land that is now America, that was full of posterity.

But keep in mind that the two explorers only survived

with Sacagawea by their side to help, representing the way to live with diversity.

 

How do we truly empty out our pockets to provide change,

so that everyone has necessities that each needs for living?

After we establish that all people deserve equality, in time we will arrive naturally at

how we can change the system by changing our hearts to be loving.