The Gypsy Strongman

He challenged anyone
Among the crowd
To try to lift
The lead weights
He carried.
As best I can figure,
He toted somewhere
In the neighborhood
Of six hundred pounds,
And he hoisted that load,
Many times a day,
Day in and day out.
Though he tried
To bait the brawniest
Among us,
There were no takers.
No one was willing
To be made the fool.
I shutter to think
Of how hard to toiled
For such precious little reward,
For he was a exhibitionist
Putting on a show
On the streets of Munich,
And begging for change.
What must he have thought
When his day was through?
Did he have mouths to feed
Other than his own?
Was that his lot in life,
To break his back
And wear himself out
For such a paltry sum?
Could there be
Any more pathetic
A brute than he?
I was again reminded
To count my blessings.