Homeless Man

In the back alley
there lives a man
in a cardboard castle
He parks his shopping cart
right next to it
under a plastic tarp
In this cart he keeps his treasures:
a bag of old clothes,
a box with rusty nails,
a teddy bear, which has lost all his hair,
a bottle full of tears
and a photo of his brother
faded and stained,
an old empty tin can with
marbles, bottle tops and safety pins
a box of cheap donuts
from the 7/11...half full
a foam container with food scraps
given to him by the deli owner
and a blanket for the cold nights to come
If you happen to see that man
from the cardboard castle
take a second
look in his eyes
because they tell
the story
of the world