The young man in front of me at the cashier
Had his girlfriend and her friends with him
Wanted to buy a bottle of soda for all of them but had no cash
In a society living on credit, he presented his card
As with many of us, his card was declined
The cashier, another person working on credit, was being sarcastic
I’ve been there and I know the pain…
Neither his “girlfriend” nor her “friends” lent him the one dollar
The shame… I’ve been there and I was behind him
Just one dollar….
I could have/should have bought the soda for him
Then I remembered my daughter
I can buy a bottle of soda for her with one dollar!
The young man went away…
With what intentions I’m not sure
Maybe he will lie, steal, cheat, rob, murder
So that he can buy a bottle of soda for his lover
I could have bought my daughter a bottle of soda
With that one dollar… but I should have bought it for the young man
So that he knows… the world is not out to get him…
And that he’s not alone in this struggle
The one dollar could have bought my daughter soda…
I should have seen the bigger picture
A bottle of soda will not help her survive in society
But one dollar could have made this place better…
Ishan Abeywardena 