Looking for a Sign

I drive by the man in his knitted cap

Hunched against the cold in threadbare flannel

Stopped by the red light, not the man

I am pulled by his words

Scrawled across jagged cardboard -

If you can read this, then you know I need help.

What else should you need to know?

What permission do you seek?

Must my wife have suffered some disease with a long winded name that took her last breath?

If it’s for my father’s funeral,

Will you help put him in the ground

I’m so furiously fighting to stay out of?

Must I have been a vet?

Would medals on my chest crack open your wallet?

What if had Venmo, a credit card reader,

Would my tech savy earn your respect?

As if I can’t be smart and desperate at the same time

What kind of dance will entertain you?

Do I need a violin to make a play for your sympathy?

I felt every word,

Reached for what token I could give

The light turned green

Giving me permission

To keep my humanity

In my pocket