a bag of nickels

he looked
like someone had
beaten him
with a bag of nickels,
we used
to say
as kids about
the bum
in an alley
sleeping with
a brown
bagged bottle
between
his wet trousers,
and he probably
had been.
his pockets hung
inside out.
his jacket torn.
but he seemed
happy in
his blissful state,
with nothing being
worse
than this.