Walking alone down a crowded street devoid of cars,

I felt compelled to peek at the corner of my eye,

Toward a man, obviously homeless,

Gazing at his own private reflection in a vacant store window.

He ignored every passerby without thought,

Just like they ignore him as if he were a ghost.

 

He was too busy to concern himself of such pity,

Fixated on his various smiles,

Trying to pick the finest grin for his peers, I suppose,

Or maybe he’s simply lost in a world I could never fathom.

 

I glanced up and down at the wandering “normal” people and noticed

The inelegant behavior as they pass the vagrant and his smiling image.

I wondered how their lives improved with the new shoes they bought,

Or with the calamari they tried for the first time in the quaint,

Corner restaurant with the celebrity photos on the wall.

 

I tried not to feel better about my life when I stared at this man,

Placing myself in his shoes, so to speak,

For I wouldn’t want to be a symbol of what not to be.

Then again, I suppose, in his mind he was happier than anyone else.

Pondering my hypocrisy, I smiled as well, all in a passing moment.