As the leaves rustled in the breeze
like a whirlwind of denigration
he watched the traffic lights turn and turn and turn,
clutching the depressing paraphernalia of his trade,
lost in a perpetual state of penury.
With fleece frayed, in tatters unkempt,
his battered, homeless body whimpered through the night,
alas he could not rest for
the etheric blazes and illicit deals
inevitably came calling.
The angst in his eye as deities passed,
hollering goading prods, he agonized
for life was his offense, a wicked transgression,
as one whose sole existence
amounted to the gelid 6th and Allegheny
and the asylum of the big house.
Yet he loitered there
in wait for the noble traveler
the shrewd sympathizer
the proof that indeed,
someone was looking out for him.
How I wish I hadn’t turned away
with just one quick glance
for that instant slipped into
the coffers of my recollections
for, perhaps, an eternity.
Michael Cheng is a sophomore at Lower Merion High School. He enjoys writing poetry and has been honored with multiple keys in the Scholastic Writing Awards. Outside of writing, Michael also adores science and foreign affairs. He loves exploring.