Story

The cart lined with cardboard,
left between fence and sidewalk;

a small stack of clothing
taking on the shape of a bench corner;

baggies of oatmeal, baggies of rice,
hidden in the wind whirled piles of leaves;

a meal sealed in a take out container,
halfway up the ramp.

And the tilt-headed crow;
The crow who watched me
walk through these plot points; the crow
who critiqued my assessment:

I was here; this is not
the afterword; pages
remain; So too hope.
So. Too. Hope.

Kimberly M. King