“The scene was typical of the city: a heroin addict nodding in and out of consciousness while standing on his feet, head hanging down, eyes rolled up, torso wavering back and forth, knees giving in as if he’s about to collapse, then straightening out a little as he comes to and catches himself, only to nod off again, his forehead intermittently leaning against the subway doors. We worried he might fall out and land flat on his face when they opened at the next stop. But we did nothing, my friend and I. Nobody did. At the next station the man gets off and quickly jumps back in again. Tottering on the doorway, he blows his nose wide open, spraying who knows what around and causing some passengers to squirm. At that point, a young woman eases up to him, takes a handkerchief out of her pocket, and gives it to him. He takes it and thanks her. As the train pulls out, her friend comes over and asks the man where he’s going. The Bronx, he says. The train is headed to Brooklyn. At 42nd Street the two women see him off. We’ll show you where you can transfer uptown, they say. Flanking him on each side, they walk him up the stairs. My friend and I were touched. What they did was hardly the norm. Not that we and others in the train (which was packed) didn’t care about the man. Oh, no doubt some had become inured to his plight, the spectacle being so commonplace. What is almost certain, however, is that most of us were afraid to help. Or at least being cautious. In the city you play it safe. You mind your own business. You don’t get involved. Besides, who has the time? Everyone is so busy. We’re all rushing off somewhere. The two women got involved. They took the time. They went out of their way. But we weren’t thinking about any of that as we watched. We weren’t thinking at all. This was not a lesson to be learned. It was more like a spiritual experience. To my friend, it brought the memory of a long-forgotten verse, a fragment of a line she had heard in this little song which is now like a gift to me. Human kindness overflowing.
Broken windows and empty hallways
A pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Scarecrows dressed in the latest styles
With frozen smiles to chase love away
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Lonely, lonely
Tin can at my feet
I think I'll kick it down the street
That's the way to treat a friend
Bright before me the signs implore me
To help the needy and show them the way
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
And I think it's going to rain today
To listen to I Think It's Going to Rain Today, or return to The Language of the Heart, please click on link.