Let a sleeping bum lie

On a street corner
with a cigarette
in my lips
I watch the people
walk
by me.

I stub the butt out;
it's a habit
that needs
kicking
and I stand
up
stretching my legs.

_______________

I walk down to the
liquor store
and wonder why,
and whatever for?

I kick a can
and cross the street,
all the cigarette butts
at my feet.

I sit back down,
on the dingy corner
a couple passes talking
about the climate turning warmer

I go in the store
and with a few bucks try
To buy some beer
But the clerk knows my age is a lie

So I grab a pack and
run out of the door
Wondering why,
And whatever for?
________________
In an alley near downtown I
see a man
sleeping with trash bags
all around
him.
With a 40. by his feet,
Should I take
it?

Like my father always
said:
Let a sleeping bum
Lie