A poem from Homefull Country
Care for the Stranger
By Patrick Gadoury
Some days, it feels like everything is happening all at once. Everything requires your caring. Every headline, every tragedy, every argument, every stranger asking for help. And in the middle of it all, you've still got bills to pay, people to look after, and your own life to live. I've been thinking about how much we're expected to care, how quickly the world moves on, and what happens to us when we can't keep up.
And since I'm a huge fan of Mitch Bolduc's amazing photography, here's Care for the Stranger, through both of our eyes.
View the poem artwork
Poem by Patrick Gadoury · Photograph © Mitch Bolduc
Care for the Stranger
Care for the child, the addict, the soldier, the sea,
care for the stranger becoming a plea.
Care until caring turns thin in the hand,
every open palm; on demand.
Katrina, Kabul, COVID, Floyd,
Sandy Hook, Uvalde, opioid,
Gaza glowing through phone-light,
five hundred drones over Ukraine tonight,
wildfire orange, fentanyl blue,
amber alert, rent past due.
Thoughts and prayers. GoFundMe. Share.
Stand with. Pray for. Prove you care.
Give blood. Give blankets. Give a bed.
Don’t give a damn. Count the dead.
Convoy, Roe, TikTok and X,
mugshot, chatbot and blue checks,
Lake America, fifty-first state,
tariffs, taxes, mortgage rates,
deepfake smiles, Epstein filed,
maple leaves in the grocery aisle.
Care for the hungry. Care for the drowned.
Care for the tents going up downtown.
Care for the nameless. Care for the numb.
Care for the stranger you’ve become.
This poem will appear in Homefull Country.