All Change Please

Coming Home

We didn't talk about the man we saw
lying in the street.

Asleep on a strip of cardboard in the doorway of a betting shop.

Young, bearded, scrunched up.

With a soggy sign that read “All change please. All yer change”

We didn't mention him.

We were coming back from church, eager to get home.
You had friends for supper.

I was cold.

But life was good,

God was good.

So we didn't talk about him.

He just lay there in our minds

An unfortunate.

A stray amidst the trappings of a Sunday night

Spoiling things,

Except we didn't mention him.

But still he lay there

In the chill of thoughts that couldn't quite forget, couldn't quite pray.

You cooked for your friends

I read

Wishing I'd done something, said something

But wishing more,

we'd gone the other way

And missed him.