I present to you the man behind the counter- he is a former coworker of mine that I would give rides home late at night after work when he sometimes missed the bus. During those drives, I got to know him and his story. This piece is dedicated to him and to all who know his struggle:
Oh listless one,
Find your niche
Carve out your pain.
Dissuaded, persuaded.
Karma is beautiful
But only real
When it
Works in your favor.
Disconnected.
Out of sight,
Out of mind
Or so they say,
But lingering
Collateral damage
Is a
Side effect
Of sacrifice.
And it affects
The heart,
Tells you
Time to listen
Time to crave
Time to work.
Oh brave one,
He’s got a
Broken family.
He looks out for them
Even though
They aren’t his own,
Riding the bus
Home from work
Late each night
Taking care of
Another woman’s kids.
Misjudged as cocky
Overconfident
But his momma
Always
Told him
He was never ugly.
Never thinking about
Himself
Everything he does is
For them.
Grew up
No clothes
On his back
Or food
On the table
But for them,
He makes it better.
Oh tired one,
Behind the counter
Fixing
Other peoples'
Frivolities
And
Problems,
Wishing
He could fix
His own
Deplorable
State of mind
State of home
State of
What he
Barely owns.
Living in a
First world country
Without the
First world comforts.
Never hopeless
Creating hopefulness
For the paltry brood
He adopted
As his own
And
Showed a cause,
Valued their
Worth.
Oh fortified one,
Never forgetting
Where he came from
Who he was
Who he is
Who he can be
Who they are
And what they see
In him.
They see a father
And devotion
The biology
Is not the connection,
But the love
Twines the
Strands of DNA
Into a
Colossal spiral,
Twisting downward
Into an
Explosion.
Oh unashamed one,
Sifting through
The ashes
And
Wrangled remnants
Of the blast,
Sculpting the
Melted metals
Into
Breathtaking beauty,
Molding strength
And aspirations.
Make it archaic
For the
Generations
That will follow,
His generations
He taught that
It's okay to
Have desires
As long as they
Keep the fire
How he kept it,
Burning.
For his children,
The one who
Worked behind
The counter.
