With all her possessions in sacks in her wagon she is homeless…we assume
and we wonder how one lives without a house
without four walls…
without a room.
We often see her in the morning as we take our daily walk.
We’ve tried to engage her in conversation…but never will she talk.
She turns her back when she sees us coming…the moment we appear
and we walk away in sadness….wondering…how did she get here?
Living on our streets and benches as basic human contact she eludes.
How does she bathe?
Where is her family?
What does she do for food?
Our Florida winters are mild but as the days unfold
we have our share of thunderstorms
we have our share of cold…
And what does she do in summer
when she’s living on the street
when under a tree or awning
are the only places to escape the heat?
I know everyone’s life has a story
from birth to death and all times in between
but I can’t imagine in her youth
this is the ending she’d foreseen.
We don’t know what to do for her
this lady with all her sacks
so every time we see her we smile
in the hope she’ll smile back…
And that smile perhaps will lead to acceptance of the the friendship we’re extending…
and a chance to change the story of her life
into a happy ending.