Decorated Ugliness
to the homeless man on the street corner
On a cold, snowy night,
While driving through busy city streets,
I stopped to fill my warm car with gas.
Across the street at a busy intersection,
A man stands,
Bundled in dirty jacket and worn jeans.
He has long hair and scraggly beard.
Is wearing a disposable blue mask
Over mouth and nose.
The homeless can practice pandemic guidelines
Even as many prominent figures refuse to do so.
He is holding a cardboard sign:
“Homeless. Anything helps. God Bless.”
He stands outside a storefront in the cold.
The store is decorated with pine garlands, red ribbons,
And sparkling Christmas tree with countless lights.
The sight makes me uncomfortable.
The homeless man does not belong.
He doesn’t fit in this scene.
I want to write him out, remove him from this story.
The scene is of Christmas, capitalism,
And a stop light with a lot of traffic.
It’s not a place for homelessness:
A homeless man with a mask on his face
To fight a pandemic is out of place.
He…
