Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash

Out of Sight

What do you see in the periphery?
Who’s sleeping there in the park?
Do you walk blind past those on the streets,
struggling in front of your eyes?
How do they deal with those westerly winds
or storms in the middle of the night?
Some blurry figures smudging the edge
have flitted into my view for a while,
with scenes of life from the outside:
midnight battles when the weather comes in
and there’s room for a few at the bus stop;
loans going round and round to repay
from whatever comes in on pension day;
teeth in too much pain to eat
even when food is available.
What happens when their eyesight fails
and glasses are out of their reach?
Who will see their stories then?
Who will watch what happens?
Once I slept out for an evening or two
with fear as my only companion,
kicked awake by security guards
and evicted from the railway station.
You might think it could never happen to you
but the future is out of your sight.