As thin and ragged <br />As the staked man in the field, <br />He appeared at my car window. <br /> <br />Startled by the sudden appearance, <br />I held in a faint cry at the moist eyes, <br />The dirty caked grin, and the matted hair. <br />I recoiled at the combined odor of liquor and filth. <br /> <br />I hesitated. <br />It was hard to find <br />Beauty in that face. <br />Yet it shined through. <br /> <br />He offered to pump my gas, <br />Took nothing for his services, <br />And left slightly taller than he came. <br />It was hard to condemn him. <br />I smiled. <br /> <br />For the merest of moments, <br />He reclaimed the right <br />To walk upright. <br />One kind-hearted move <br />Before the tunnel's blinding light. <br /> <br />Harsh stares and scorns burned his back, <br />And faint embers blew toward me, <br />Leaving me to wonder: <br />If things were different, <br />If all were seen <br />Through eyes of green, <br />Would he turn out to be <br />Wiser than the rest us, <br />And given the <br />Coveted post of leader?<br /><br />Adrianne Quinlan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-staked-man/
