SACK LADY

With all her possessions in sacks in her wagon she is homeless…we assume

and we wonder how one lives without a house

without four walls…

without a room.

We often see her in the morning as we take our daily walk.

We’ve tried to engage her in conversation…but never will she talk.

She turns her back when she sees us coming…the moment we appear

and we walk away in sadness….wondering…how did she get here?

Living on our streets and benches as basic human contact she eludes.

How does she bathe?

Where is her family?

What does she do for food?

Our Florida winters are mild but as the days unfold

we have our share of thunderstorms

we have our share of cold…

And what does she do in summer

when she’s living on the street

when under a tree or awning

are the only places to escape the heat?

I know everyone’s life has a story

from birth to death and all times in between

but I can’t imagine in her youth

this is the ending she’d foreseen.

We don’t know what to do for her

this lady with all her sacks

so every time we see her we smile 

in the hope she’ll smile back…

And that smile perhaps will lead to acceptance of the the friendship we’re extending…

and a chance to change the story of her life

into a happy ending.