Homeless

The face, was not so much lined, but furrowed,
whilst observing me.
It was a wary look, not frightened as such
but placidly defiant!
In the corner of the cardboard coffin,
last week’s news lay stacked carefully;
this week’s blankets!

Plastic bags jutted from the back, sides and
one threadbare toe.
The training shoes had long since lost any of
their original capabilities.
They seemed to empathize with the present,
though hardly first and almost definitely last owner’s
tattered memories.

I found myself creating a past, for this stranger;
my fancies unfettered!
On the canvas of my imagination,
In bold, brash brushstrokes,
I painted a suave individual;
a confident soldier of destiny, oblivious
of cruel fate.

It went well, until I came to the backdrop.
The shimmering mirage
lost its credibility; hope capitulating
and fancy ripping away
the rose tinted veil of wishful thinking...
as the cardboard, fluttered and swayed,
in the chill wind.