I saw Your face today
and I turned away.
I knew it was You.
Not at first.
But something in Your eyes.

Your humanity was undeniable.
Your divinity hidden in dust and weariness.
You looked at me.
And still, I looked through You.

Your hands were trembling.
Your sign was misspelled.
Your clothes were worn thin by cold and time.
I was ashamed.

Ashamed for You, I told myself.
But the truth settled deep.
It was me.
My face was clean.
My coat was new.
My pride, untouched.

I crossed the street
not only to avoid
but to forget.
To silence the ache of recognition.
To turn from the mirror
You held to my soul.

I did not merely pass You by.
I denied You.
Not by accident.
But with full knowledge
and averted eyes.

Now it is my heart
that hangs in rags.
Threadbare from the weight
of love withheld.

Whatever I did not do for the least of these
I did not do for You.
Forgive me, Lord.

-inspired by Matthew 25:40