Careworn I marched down the street
It was dark and I passed some windows
Where mingling sounds of talk and laughter
Wafted through and fell on my stubborn ears
It all annoyed me and I moved further
Away till my senses relented
Looking for obscure places
And finding obscurity
There I saw a vagrant
Carefree he marched towards me
And everything felt familiar
Including his laughter
Which he let go
On seeing my face
Don’t think hard he said
You’ll recognize me in a few years
In the vicinity of these rocks
That offer resistance to the flowing water
The clear relentless water that makes its way
And laps at my grateful toes
These rocks that are set firmly in the sand
The clean moist sand that breaks
At the slightest of pressure
And then swallows my hand
But not even this water
Or this sand
Or the sunlight that skims the surface
Or the people I call friends
It’s just the rocks
All the rocks and nothing else
The inert ever present rocks
That have my undivided attention
On the off chance
If all you see
Is a sea of black and white dots
Then step out from your shelter
And walk through your city
Pay no heed to
Sights, sounds or smell
They diminish and deceive the truth
Consistency robs them of consequence
Instead know your brothers
Know me
I lie each day on your street
Your neighbors are kind
They aid my poverty
But I don’t seek your grace
I only wish to tell my tale
I am your grocer too
Your milkman, your maid
Your office clerk, your guard
I am more than my occupation
Speak to me once
And discover for yourself
I am the stranger on the road
Walking towards you
Mindful of your presence
My thoughts and dreams as vivid as yours
Can you imagine the strength
of our combined urges?
This boy
Wedged between his kin
Who hold hands
And bow before
The feast
This boy
His grip weak
His head unbowed
Stares through the frame
And I look away
The gentleman in the train
Stares with contempt
At the man sitting beside him
As they both journey
From and to a place
Where none wait for either
A True Sentence 