Day 21

(This didn't exactly come out as planned. Originally, the idea is for a ridiculous children's book called Lenny The Good-Natured Hobo. Thoughts anyone?)

Lenny

He never bothered anyone
Just sat alone in the market corner
Bumming some extra change
Or maybe some coffee.
He wore the same clothes he had worn for fourty years
Patched and torn
But loved and worn.
Holes in his boots
And belongings on his back
In reality, he traveled to hell and back.
Years of trying to make a difference
Led him to the corner
Of Ridgemont and Fairview
Next to the Wirl 'N Wash.
There was always a smile on his face
Through the grime
And the etchings of time
His smile shone through.
It was like a beacon of light
In the dismal place.
He always had something nice to say
Or something encouraging as people walked by.
When I passed him
I couldn't help but stop
And wonder what could make this man happy.

Years later I had to smile
Lenny knew who he was.
He knew how to live the way he wanted

And in the end,
How to fight the man.