The Shopping Cart

The Shopping Cart
By Mark Spencer

So you think you're altruistic;
A kind and loving soul.
Your heart is full of charity,
Peace is your only goal.

You try doing unto others,
As you would have them do,
Unto the ones they love the most,
That's how they should treat you.

But if you are considerate,
As loving as you thought,
Perhaps you'd like to take a stroll,
Across the parking lot.

See where you failed to show concern,
For how your deeds affect,
Whoever might come after you;
You gave them no respect.

You had to get some shopping done,
Down at the super mart.
Then wheeled your items to your car,
Using a shopping cart.

And once you packed them in the car,
You should have done your part.
Those caddies in the parking lot,
Are for the shopping carts.

But that was much too far to walk,
To put it in its place.
Instead you simply left it there,
In someone's parking space.

"They pay someone to round them up,"
You quietly remark.
What happens if the lot is full,
And someone wants to park?

Have they been paid to leave their car,
And clear the parking space?
To put the cart you left behind,
Into it's proper place?

You left something for someone else,
To clean up after you.
But if the rolls had been reversed,
What is it they should do?

You claim to be considerate,
Unselfish in your heart.
And yet you let somebody else,
Deal with your shopping cart.

It's the things we take for granted,
That we cannot ignore.
They show us who we really are,
Down deep within our core.

You'll learn a lot about someone;
What's really in their heart,
By what they do when they get through,
Using that shopping cart.

End.