Out for a night walk
way back when
Seeing a man
off to the side of Main Street
where he’d fallen on
the far edge of the sidewalk
and now lay half-concealed in
brown oak leaves
on the slope
across from
the car dealership
Finding him unresponsive
when I tried to wake him up
Running home to
call the police
and returning with my dad
to the spot to make sure
they’d find him and watching him —
Dad checked again —
the man was alive then — gesturing from
the stretcher as they
took him
That’s all I know to this day
I wasn’t more
than fourteen then
I wondered until recently
was he drunk or sick
or both
Was he just trying
to sleep
Did I annoy
or save him
When upon leaving a bar
to go home
I found a dead man
a few years ago
behind a convenience store
I didn’t check first before
calling the cops
Pulled out a cell phone
Made the simple call then
just stood and watched
Let them do the work
Put up the tape
Asked me a few questions
Sent me home
where I shrugged it off
and slept just fine
It’s not my job
to be a savior
I’m too annoyed
by the interruptions
in my routine
Let someone else do it
Let my dad
come back from the dead
and do it