Hospitality

He was an extremely smart and humble guy
In the same class as my older brother and cousins

He went to the University of Chicago
Dropped out after a semester

He then made his way to the East Coast
Joined a radical community there

The focus of the community
Was to help the homeless

Offering hospitality
Protesting city policy

Engaging in civil disobedience
Serving up soup

The work never stopped
You just kept going

As the weeks went by
He became more and more despondent

Shutting down
Barely coming out of his room

No one even noticed his absence
No one checked in on him

In the dead of winter
He realized this wasn’t the place for him

He managed to get out of the room
Find the charismatic leader of the community

Told him that it wasn’t working out
And he’d be leaving soon

The leader stared at him
“Fine, go ahead and leave

But tonight when someone freezes to death on the street
It will be on your conscience, not mine”

The leader walked away
The young man walked away

Years later the young man became a doctor
Years later the charismatic leader killed himself