It is six-thirty in the morning I am awakened by the dark muffled figure scraping the newly fallen snow it is Jose who lives in the basement I peek through the slats in the blinds without turning on the light the sky is black and empty But the snow on the ground is dazzling The bundled figure scraping the sidewalk casts no shadow Jose, who is very handsome never speaks to me Or when he must he looks away mumbling to an invisible companion One day I caught him in a smile revealing the fact that he is without teeth I am told he has a girlfriend But I have never seen him with anyone Even hanging with the guys he stands apart I like to think he is a loner that we understand each other I like knowing he is down there next to the furnace Montclair, NJ, 2000
Hiding Out