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A homeless poet

A few days ago, I was walking home with my dollar store notebook in my hand as I walked. I was deep in thought about how I was going to fill these 250 blank pages. A voice called out to me as I passed by a man sitting on a nearby park bench, "going back to school?" he asked, no I said I'm a writer, actually a poet/writer. "Oh... so you're a poet too" ! "I am also " he muttered in a soft tone. Oh really I exclaimed, realizing that I had a bond with the stranger, I sat down beside him on the bench. 

It was then that I noticed he was a little unkempt, but, had a quiet dignity  wearing jeans a lumberjack shirt and a suede jacket, with Rockport walking shoes. He asked me my name I said John Derek, oh he said, as looked down at his feet, I followed his gaze as he said in a morose tone that was...my sons name too...Derek. Was?... I inquired. Yes, he died when he was 12 years old...choked on a candy...I couldn't save him.  A solemn silence followed...after a few moments he collected himself and said "my name is Ed". Nice to meet you Ed I responded.  

He began to tell me about his writing, how he would write about what the native people told him about nature, he started to notice and appreciate nature when he worked in Whitehorse, in the Northwest Territories. He was an engineer working for one of the petroleum giants, but because of his association with native peoples he started to rethink his career choice.  He asked me if I knew where the city of Whitehorse got it's name, I said no.  He said that there is a river that in the springtime it begins to rush violently over the rocks creating white rapids that flowed like a horses mane. So the area got it's name from that local rushing river, he then began to relate his poem called White horse. He related it in a calm reassuring voice with a slight halting cadence as he tried to recall it. "I wrote it in 1995 after Derek died, a kind of therapy of sorts".  It was a stunning write in every way!  I asked are you a published poet?  He thought a little bit, as he stared  down at his feet again, "no...I like my anonymity. I have them written down in my journal, I love writing". I said I would like to read them one day, "maybe one day" he said.

He then asked me if I wanted to write a legal thesis about family life and family law, as he had it memorized after his lost court battles with his ex-wife. I said no that's not what I do. He said "she divorced me after Derek died, I guess she blamed me, I lost everything the house, our nest egg, and I've been living on the streets since 2003".  He caught me off guard because he didn't look like a typical homeless person, I mean, he was neat and tidy except for a growing untrimmed beard. I mentioned to him about the social facilities and services that were available in our town, to help him to find a job and a place of shelter, but he said he's happy as he is.  He didn't want to be a part of a corrupt system that put him on the streets.  I asked him how he managed and he said "people are kind".  He said that God sent me to talk to him that day. He said he was born in 1960, the same year as me, so we chatted about what life will be like next year as we hit sixty. I gave him ten dollars and gave him my phone number in case he changed his mind.

I worry as winter approaches with the bitter cold, but he says "somehow I manage, I can handle it, God helps me". Indeed he does. I reflect on my life and how  in spite of health difficulties, I have a simple life with a shelter and a wife who loves me. I am truly blessed with much more than Ed has. Ed asked me " do you know the secret to happiness" I mused...I think so, but, what do you think?  He says" happiness comes from within, not from things we have". I immediately thought of the proverb written 3,000 years ago, in Proverbs 1:20 how " wisdom cries out in the very street".  Solomon was right!

Ed texts me once in a while, with a screenshot of a poem, it is excellent writing. My heart breaks for him, I ask him if he wants me to post it, he says "no I like my anonymity". 

God bless Ed and all the homeless this winter.

John Derek Hamilton
October 16,2019
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