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.