I used to work at a convenient store when I was trying to find a job after graduating from university. I worked on state street and center, in the heart of the city. I worked the night shift.
The following poem, "Winter Ghost," is based on a man I saw walking the streets in a heavy snow storm one late night while working. The experience still haunts me today.
Winter Ghost
The snow storm silenced the city noise.
People disappeared. Streets transformed
into white rivers you could walk out on
and listen for the sound of cracking.
A figure stepped in and out of the triangle glow
of street lamps like a ghost. His head he hid
under the gray blanket he wore like a shawl.
Arms held tight to his chest, and hands thrown
under the armpits of his tattered coat, he haunted
the walks between concrete and glass facades.
Finding the dumpsters empty, he disappeared
into the dark snow falling in an alley.
There will be no trace of tracks come morning.
© Copyright 2005. Michael Parker
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