things

I believe that

something clings

to some…things:

Stonehenge, bodhi trees

the wailing wall, the Kaaba

Chickamauga, Wounded Knee.

Some live behind ropes or under glass

Lincoln's top hat, Jefferson's bible,

pieces of the Berlin wall,

-sometimes even the mundane.

I was standing on my usual corner

enjoying my usual ten o'clock smoke

and I heard a quiet voice

behind me softly muttering

a string of urgent messages

about conspiracies on BART

and invocations to some Cynthia

in phrases whose meaning

was only known to the ragged

woman with a missing right

maxillary lateral incisor.

She was dressed in many layers

and a super hero themed bandana

wrapped around her head..

In the middle of her opaque

and pauseless stream

she clearly said,

May i trade you a lighter

for a cigarette? and held

out two in her dirt smeared hand.

I declined her proffered swap

and gave her a cigarette.

She lit it up and placed the lighter

on top of the corner trash bin

and silently suggested with a nod

and downward flick of her eyes

that I should take it, so I did.

It was a standard plastic Bic

with an image of a dark eyed

zombie woman and the name

of a popular television show,

-The Walking Dead.