slipping into indifference is all too easy
this time of year. the man at the station
is bothering you for dollars (change doesn't
go anywhere this time.)
of years past, this one is a doozy, you think
stepping over ice and wet water on that
piece between the road and sidewalk,
and there is a body you have to walk
around. they must not be dead, you think
because then, wouldn't an ambulance
or a police officer be about? but then again,
you don't really know how much death you've seen,
and it has become hard to recognize from this distance.