The Staked Man Poem by Adrianne Quinlan

As thin and ragged
As the staked man in the field,
He appeared at my car window.

Startled by the sudden appearance,
I held in a faint cry at the moist eyes,
The dirty caked grin, and the matted hair.
I recoiled at the combined odor of liquor and filth.

I hesitated.
It was hard to find
Beauty in that face.
Yet it shined through.

He offered to pump my gas,
Took nothing for his services,
And left slightly taller than he came.
It was hard to condemn him.
I smiled.

For the merest of moments,
He reclaimed the right
To walk upright.
One kind-hearted move
Before the tunnel's blinding light.

Harsh stares and scorns burned his back,
And faint embers blew toward me,
Leaving me to wonder:
If things were different,
If all were seen
Through eyes of green,
Would he turn out to be
Wiser than the rest us,
And given the
Coveted post of leader?