A homeless man sleeping in a doorway
On the other side of the street
There were five brothers laughing and chatting away
A sister on her phone, wondering out loud
Why she’s standing alone
Telling her tardy ride she could have been cool inside
And he was wrecking her day
Not too far down, a boy idling on his bike
A family slowed down by the red light
Kids getting ready to run
The ones in purple scrubs, heading in opposite directions
Either strolled or sprinted with the intention
To be on time for frontline work, or head home
For every boarded up blight
A few doors down, a shiny, brand new site
If only all of the boards could be removed
And the course of homelessness could be run
The train reminded me of Addis
If you mistimed crossing the tracks
Your wait was long
It didn’t care if you were in a hurry
The same rules applied to everyone
Further down, a lady was hawking pretty clothes;
So colorful, and I supposed
She used to have a store
A crowded space; people gathering for giveaways
No social distancing was taking place
Masks dangling from ears; face after sweaty face
I wasn’t feeling anxious anymore
Maybe I’d been inside too long
The busy streets gave no sign that anything’s wrong
A veteran, with a handmade cardboard sign
Was singing a song
Perhaps it’s the city where the bold belong
Carry on, Baltimore
VRWc2020
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