Sketch (Boston Common, June 2019)

we were
watching when he limped from the
wet brick sidewalk by the war memorial
relief by the top of the
stairs at the edge of the
path turn on the corner of the
common grass park above the
playground and sometime ice rink pond
bronze frogs with goggles and sprays
below the golden done with his
full paid tour ticket lanyard waving
across the chest and below the chin with
one hand held and eyes slipping to
tour guide pairs waiting in
period hats leaving his
five dollar bill with the
free donation requested balloon animal man
for the shape of a dog and leaving his
ten dollar bill with the
somber artist in a multicolored blanket nest
for the charcoal lines and holding his
frilled collar child by the one hand
his misdrawn dignity by the other
rolled and pinched and turning
in the late spring heat and
in the afternoon glare slowly
downhill along to freedom