Wednesday, March 2, 2022

the stranger outside

there's a stranger
outside
the house.
i look out the window.
she's been there all day.
she looks tired
and old. she's shoeless,
wrapped in a shawl.
she could easily be
a scarecrow
fending off black birds
from the sky.
she pulls a chair
out of her car and sits.
she's in for the long
haul. i wave to her.
she waves back,
making small circles with
her hand as if she's in
a parade, riding on a float,
forever the princess.
she takes
a sip from her thermos.
she looks familiar.
i've seen that face before.
she reminds me of someone.
she looks angry.
bitter. hungry.
nothing has changed with
her. there is a bucket
for coins beside her
swollen feet.
i close the curtains,
turn off the lights
and go to sleep.

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