Crows and Grace

The old woman walks past
our house
pulling her grocery trolley,
once more,
head down,
leaning forward,
like she does
in heat or chill,
bright or gloom-
She looks over at me
and smiles
for the first time.
I had wondered,
not seeing her for a while,
if she had passed.
Or, like our neighbor 
to the left,
if her smile was a sign,
not even mysterious-
The joy of the street
filled with kids on bikes
and the slight pause 
when the body is taken away.
He too had smiled,
toothless, wild with life, unafraid
and then his mattress
was on the curb.
Crows sat on it for days
daring him to return.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2022

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Delaney-Barron Avatar
September 13, 2023 at 5:58 PM
The view from your house takes you into the lives that walk by. It's lovely. I felt like I could see it happening!
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