sack of bones.

there's just some people that you know in
this world that can only exist in one realm,
that if you saw them outside of this place,
your heart might explode & you'd collapse
dead on the ground like a sack of bones.
i stare at this man everyday.
he shakes constantly behind the counter
at the gas station where he sells me my cigarettes
& dispenses lottery tickets like crack to the masses.
his hair is thin & greasily matted wantonly to his
wrinkled head.
he speaks softly
& i can almost see the smoke escaping from
his lungs & fighting past his ravaged throat
with every word.
he drinks a mixture of cheap vodka & whatever
syrupy soda his gnarled fingers can get to the fastest.
i've watched him leave a long line at his register
during a one-manned shift to procure such a cocktail.
the need is evident.
he grumbles at exact change but grumbles harder
when he has to count you change.
i've seen him smile once or twice.
his teeth aren't very flattering,
but i would expect nothing less.
he would never guess it & it surprises me
to even write it now, but he makes me smile every time.
he's the color & life in this all too perfect cardboard cut-out
we call society.
overlooked, under appreciated & certainly not ideal.
but on a palette, he would be the paint i run out of first.
i was thinking of you when i started this rant...
oh yes...i would collapse dead on the ground
like a sack of bones.