my space on the sidewalk

some people say i have no dignity,
no right to look them in the eye.
some people make me want to scream
"stop the world so i can jump off!"
but then there are others who make me want to live.
tiny girls in pink hats grinning at me while their mothers tug them along; a teenager giving me pizza; little people tossing big bills into my hat; a man in tattered clothes coming to sit beside me, silent.
homeless maybe, but i'm not heartless.
i sit and wait to see what kind of people will pass by my space today.
maybe i'll invite them in.
maybe i'll shut them out.
but i'll always look them in the eye.