Charges and Charger

she gave so much that her tank was running on empty money worldly possession advice love and heart blood clothed and fed the homeless a kind word and a few coins to every poor beggar in sight on the long windy road of social mobility going the wrong way towards loss selfless she stumbled upon utter misery devastation and destitution surely some of the tramps would buy smokes and booze in search for mind-numbing solace from their vile plight who is to judge unless they marched in somebody else’s shoes or barefoot the neighbours chuckled she looks like one of the vagrants and they resembled each other when the days drew to a close nightmares filled her aspirations and dreams but she lit candles and incense in firm prayer one rainy freezing midnight one of her down and out drifters set himself alight at the local petrol station in search of the light inflamed her sorrow and the stench of hot fumes rekindled her blazing desire to proffer even more ‘it’s my fault alone I should have invited him into my home’ but every nook and cranny had already been filled with bodies and her pantry was empty with power for the fridge disconnected she had sold the furniture except for mattresses a long time ago ‘should have slept on the street myself and not him´ but does hindsight matter when blindness stole present vision eventually the fuel pipe broke under pressure of emptiness she would call it angel gas supplied by God’s given grace a true people pleaser with no charger anywhere near the gas oven loomed as she searched for a rope in the wood wormed attic that had infested her strong resolve and last bit of compassion she was ready to give up and dangle in bliss from rafters of seemingly senseless kindness but Karma would not take her weary bones and exhausted mind when a barely clothed women cuddled her in a smelly embrace a toothless smile brought back her own kindness too much decay to change her heavenly abode 23rd September 2020 Givers Contest Sponsor Regina McIntosh