the balance

he left the bank in agony.

the lunch time crowd,

eating fruit salad or yogurt,

sipping lattes in the mini park

didn't notice when he fell down

at the corner. the stroke his doctor

had been warning of, had finally arrived.

the men who idled daily in the shade

underneath the marquee of the dead

movie theater across the street

levered themselves upright

with their canes and shouted

at the office workers munching

in the park. hey! stop updating

your status and call an ambulance.

so they did. one called 911.

another rushed to the man

and attempted CPR.

a third one removed the passbook

he was clutching tightly in his hand

and opened it to see a balance

of fifty nine dollars and thirteen cents.