THE BEGGAR- Country Yossi

I came upon a broken man
Whose eyes I couldn’t see
I dropped a quarter in his cup
He slowly turned to me
A tear ran down his wrinkled cheek
I quickly turned to leave
I couldn’t say what made me stay
Then I felt him tug my sleeve.

I snapped out of my reverie
There was no one around
Just me and this old, tortured soul
Sitting on the ground
Then the sweetest voice I ever heard
Rose up and cast a spell
As he hummed a haunting melody
That I remembered well.

Memories of long ago
That I had locked away
Rushed back with such intensity
It seemed like yesterday
That Papa sang that song to me
As he kissed me goodbye
Though he was gone, the tune lived on
For some songs never die.

I’d heard he died in Buchenwald
At least that’s what they said
And I was only ten years old
They told him I was dead
He made his way to Israel
But my fate was not the same
Alone and scared and unprepared
To America I came.

He’d lost his loving family
Nine children and a wife
Ashes, tears and loneliness
Would fill his shattered life
But he never gave up praying
That he’d meet his son again
Though blind and frail, he wouldn’t fail
Until his journey’s end.

I whispered softly, “Tateh”
Lifting him up from the ground
I held him and I hugged him
Like the treasure I had found
He cried my name and hugged me
He no longer was alone
Then slowly, oh, so slowly
Me and Papa headed home.