homeless man

by Jack Henry / February 13th, 2022

a haggard man
in tattered clothes
crosses the street
against the grain
to a symphony
of honking horns
and customary
epithets

he looks me up and down
offers me his cold
it’s cold tonight
he says

when i decline
my voice thick with confusion
and sudden shame
he keeps shuffling

it’s gonna be cold tonight
it’s gonna be cold

i stuff my hands
in my jeans
walk a thousand steps
to my front door

it’s cold out
but my house warm

yeah, my house is warm

Jack Henry is a writer/editor based in Southern California. Recent publications can be found in Raven’s Cage, Horror Sleaze Trash, Red Fez, Rusty Truck, Dope Fiend Daily, Smoking Typewriter, Fearless, among others, He is also editor of Heroin Love Songs and 1870 Press. A new book, Driving W/Crazy, will be available in the Fall of 2020 from Punk Hostage Press. Read other articles by Jack.

This article was posted on Sunday, February 13th, 2022 at 8:03am and is filed under Poetry.