The old man stopped his battered car at
a beauty spot’s parking lot, divorced and
his possessions now were cloths in
a shopping bag and his old car.
It was early Monday morning, but some
middleclass fool, on his way to work,
had seen him and called the police,
(lone men are often called tramps and have few rights)
a patrol car came and an officer told him to move on;
the old man sighed and without irony said:
“It’s a wonderful world.”
The officer, who had kind eyes, looked
surprised, but nodded in agreement.
The old man drove off.
And as the worn out car disappeared
into the new day,
it struck the officer that he had seen his own future.
