Red robot
There's a beggar on my right
He begs for something to eat
We hand him a juicy, orange naartjie
He thanks us as if we'd saved his life
but he saved ours.

I stared at him in amazement
As the naartjie was peeled.
He peeled it gently and softly
almost as if he held a newborn baby
smoothly and with a tenderness.
The same touch as that from a mother.
He taught me to be gentle.

As we strolled up the road
I spotted another beggar, polishing his shoes
Shoes that have aged.
As the cloth swayed smoothly from left to right
he smiled, as if that was his only joy.
Like the first laugh of a baby.
The feeling that creates butterflies and fairies.
He taught me how to be gentle.