Brad Rose

I Overheard the Homeless Vet

When some guy in a blue suit,
instead of giving him change,
righteously reared up and asked him
why he didn’t have a job
and work like the rest of us human beings,
he calmly announced
from his rumpled pile of Salvation Army clothing—
the weathered M-65 jacket, the seldom-washed cargo pants,
the standard issue, late-August pull-over wool cap—
“I resigned so I could spend more time with my family.”

Brad Rose is a lot taller than he thinks. www.bradrosepoetry.com