Gesture at Bay & Bloor
By: Jehangir Saleh
Written: April 30, 2003

Easy to trip on
That man with rancid in his voice
A slop on the sidewalk
Hands and mouth shaking at passersby
Rasps of hair peeking out
From the holes in his hat
Which he tips towards me
While I wait for the light to change
For things to happen,
For progression
Leaving him behind with the pigeons
And other pedestrians

I imagine walking back
Shaking his callused
But firm hands
Sharing a cigarette
Becoming dirty from his wisdom

He is a great mound of man –
Like the one where they waited for Godot
It was not a rock
But a blanketed homeless man
That meant nothing and never will-
As tragic as a permanent suit stain

A leather briefcase jabs my side,
The well-dressed crowd hungers for green
And I begin to think of my future
As the light begins to change