Five Dollar Coffee

I say to him why don’t you

check into a hospital, man,

are you schizophrenic I think

he says yes but he was just

trying to get close enough

to my table to bend over

and pick up a cigarette butt

off of the floor.

I say lock him up

not cuz he’s evil

but because he doesn’t

stand a chance

is this freedom that

you’re giving him

letting him wander the sidewalks

of The USA from trashcan

to trashcan?

Lock him up.

Give him a bath

and some clean clothes.

Feed him.

Find out what his mental illness is.

Give him his meds.

Teach him something

that could make him useful

to not only himself, but to all of us.

How much longer can you sit back

and watch a man eat from a trashcan

while you sip on your five dollar coffee?

Mikel K

February 13, 2003