Homeless

I felt peculiar this morning as I climbed from the box that had sheltered me from the rain. Dampness lay all around yet I was warm and dry. The breaking day made the sky a color that has no name…orangey,pinkish,purple, is all I can say. I had no idea if I were dreaming or if the world had tipped and started a new. There in the corner of the alley was my old companion. She lay so still that I may not have noticed her if not for the patch of white in her hair. As I approached her I could see the ever so slight heaving of her chest that indicates life still occupied her corner. A tiny infant lay sleeping beside her untouched and unaware of the harsh reality we call life.

Memories of such comfort flooded my body and I shivered quite violently for several moments. The new mother opened her eyes and purred. All was well for THAT moment. There would be shuffling feet, clanging garbage cans and traffic, as the story goes for the homeless. The infant would know hunger and cruelty all too soon.

Eyes still shut and innocence blanketing her, she suckled blissfully ignorant next to her mother. All was well…