The winter between us

With cold wet rain the sky pelted the earth,
the slippery patch of grass warns against tresspass
the weather imposed its walls between us,
even as we reach out with words our breaths
fogs and blurs the face of the other,
with submissive haste …..we walked on…….
aware of nothing more than the chill and our lives.

The homeless man on the corner shook his cup
with imploring look in his eyes, yearning for alms
from passers by hoping we drop a coin or two.
He gets only our perfunctory glances
then avoiding his space and his gaze ….we moved on….
our minds were tackling the chill and our lives.

The brass quartet dressed in season’s red
played songs of love and redemption
they set cadence for shoppers flowing thru the mall.
The four did well to beat the cold and the snow
they could have chosen to lounge cozily
where they work at The Wall ….we should have known….
But our souls carry lots of chills and less of our lives.