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Bus Stop Contender

                      by Odin Roark

“When memory is one’s best friend,

Consider whether it’s an opponent

Or the threat of defeat

That drives one away from the battle.

“To hang up one’s gloves,

To stop training for another day,

Is to succumb to melancholy,

To obsess on yesterday

And become a mere armchair contender.

“How awakening the acceptance

That one’s next encounter

May be an eye-opener

Or an eye-closer

But undeniably an experience

Paid for and owned.

“Would that the past could remain friend

Maybe even the teacher

Ushering in an openness

To confront tomorrow without regret

Or a clinging to the past.”

They rose from the bench,

The young man pocketing the napkin

Where the older man’s scribbled words

Would remain framed above his bed

Well into the future,

Reminding him that anyone

Could become homeless,

But still remain alive,

Still a willing challenger,

Like this bus stop contender

Still eyeing life’s next bout.