JUST ENOUGH FOR COFFEE, UPDATE

written by: Jake Cosmos Aller

@Jakecaller

published in Spillwords and From Adict to Advocate

A homeless man
Stood on the street
Counting his change
From panhandling all morning

Just had enough for a cup of coffee
All in all
A good start

He ambled off to his favorite coffee shop
Where the owner
Was kind to the homeless

Sometimes
Treating them to a meal
On the house

The man said
I was in your shoes
Once years ago

And you never forget
When you are down
And out

Everyone forgets your face
No one knows your name
For you are now
Invisible
Almost a ghost

The old man tried to pay
The owner said

Keep your change
You need it more than me

Have a meal with me
My friend
On the house

He ordered up
The homeless man’s favorite
Lumberjack special

Eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon
Cornbread
Lots of hot black coffee
To wash it down

The old man
Often had just one meal a day
Usually, a late breakfast

Sometimes if he were lucky
He would have dinner

And on a red-letter day
He would have three meals

The homeless man
Had been on the streets
For too long

Barely remembered his life
Before early-onset Alzheimer’s

Robbed him of his job
His dignity
His wife

His life
His money

Now he drifted
Waiting for the grim reaper
To call him home

Any day now
He prayed nightly
To a god
That he no longer believed in

Also published on from addict to advocate

Please follow and like us:

Just Enough for Coffee, Update