rescued from a garage-parked antique
coach by EMTs in a boat while the
wallet remained in the driver’s seat
the alcohol-breath rant bent the ear
of the officer until he pushed her
into the back seat of a patrol car in the street
soaking wet, sweatshirt on head, rifling
through the carpetbag; beneath the half full
bottle of vodka next to the Xanax
below the blow-dryer that travels everywhere
in case of frizz, loose bills by hundreds
fill the space of the absent wallet
with the ID that would prove
she wasn’t a lying vagrant
she was just down on her luck once
again with a friend who needed a friend
a cripple, he was, life-sucked by stroke,
holding a rucksack, standing in the slanting rain
Nancy Jasko lives in a small neighborhood in central New Jersey
near a bay. She enjoys early morning walks to the beach with her dog and taking photos along the way. She graduated Rutgers University with a BA in English and the University of Florida with a MA in Special Education.
califragile.org 