Just two feet sticking out from below a grubby blanket.
Just two feet, naked to the world— a body flung out of its shoes by a
passing car.
The scurry of gesticulating police
officers slowing traffic; helpless
paramedics administering syringe needles to keep the spark from
extinguishing inside a shattered
body . . . white from impact . . . wet with fear.
All those passing by indignantly
stop and stare, or pass a hasty
glance over their shoulder as they hurtle toward a more discernable
destination, leaving behind
two feet,
to a heartless world.