He prowled the streets, a cypher – v2

Pulling an image from memory,
maybe a name, but I only knew him,
in shadows, at the edge of my vision,
prowling the streets, a cypher,
sometimes catching my eye, my attention,
beyond norms, conventions,
what I expected in this life.
 
It was how he looked, how he
carried himself in walking, trudging,
wearing a heavy old trench coat,
gray, maybe drab olive green,
walking hunched over, heavy,
at the back edge of yards, streets
in whispers, in the shadows of night.
 
Clearly uncomfortable, out of place,
maybe a resident or a foreigner,
a transplant, I didn’t know,
but I remember his hair, or a toupee,
looking more like a jet-black skunk,
stapled, affixed above his forehead,
falling almost down his neck.
 
I only knew him in shadows,
I am not certain I know his name,
a living specter, evocative, forgotten,
a ghost prowling a downtown,
streets of an American city,
curled shoes encrusted with slush,
black dirt of March, those streets…
 
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Edited February 25, 2024
He prowled the streets, a cypher – v2
 
February 25, 2024
He prowled the streets, a cypher
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/02/he-prowled-streets-cypher.html
 
All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
 
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