BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Two women and a man
Were pushing a trolley
Along 108th Street
I followed them a bit
And then I asked them
If I could take a picture
One of the women smiled and nodded
Her smile was quiet and gentle
In a world where most
Wear masks
It was a rare sight to see
Especially from a stranger
They stopped on the sidewalk
I focused my lens
On the bags full of cans and
Plastic bottles
After I finished taking the picture
Feeling awkward for intruding
In their lives
I commented
That it must've taken a lot of work
To gather everything
The man with the glove
In the photo adjusting the bags
Took a deep breath and said:
Almost apologetically in Spanish
Something like:
"Well, sometimes we have to do what
we have to do to survive."
If I was a genie I would've
Granted them a wish
Any wish
But instead I watched them struggle
To move the trolley
Along on the sidewalk
As they continued on their way
And I did the same
Wow! That's a lot of cans! We all gotta do what we gotta do to survive. Somebody said: "There is honor in labor."
ReplyDeleteAn American Futurist, Alex Steffen on Sustainability and future of the planet says: "There is no such thing as garbage, just useful stuff in the wrong place." This being said, I respect the people mentioned in the "Brief Encounter" narrative and anybody, for helping us clean up the environment and doing a job nobody wants. If they make money out of it, so much the better. It's a win-win situation!. For all their hard work they deserve it.
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