When the Untouchables Are Touched

At 4:37 a.m. on July 26, 2019, police responded to a call. A homeless woman was attacked while sleeping on the streets of Portland, Ore. This poem is for her and those like her. 

When the Untouchables are touched there is no hand hold,
no hint of a caress — 

When the Untouchables Are Touched they are kicked and beaten
for the crime of existence — 

When the Invisibles are seen the eye has no softness for their edges sharp-limned their ugly invisibility — 

When the Invisibles are seen the seeing eye blames them for their fate blames them for the eye’s discomfort — 

When the Unheard scream at the dawn and in the night ears close tight against such dissonance — 

When the Unheard scream their voices are drowned out
by the unconcerned laugh of the content — 

When the Unhoused lie down in the gutters and the streets cardboard is their only friend— 

When the Unhoused lie down in their urine and their filth the nose crinkles in distaste— 

Close the gates of the eye Close the gates of the ear Close the gates of the nose Close the gates of the heart Close the gates of the mind 

When the Untouchables approach close the hands into fists
and beat, beat, beat away that tremulous divine spark lighting another way

Rabbi David Kosak is a poet and the senior rabbi of Congregation Neveh Shalom in Portland, Ore., the largest West Coast Conservative congregation north of Los Angeles. He, his community and partners are building villages of tiny homes to transition the underemployed off the streets of Portland and into safe and secure housing.