Winter's Chill - Ballarat
Outside the supermarket a woman
not waiting for a taxi or a friend.
She holds out the Big Issue, five
dollars only, half to be her due.
Few see the vendor; they hurry off
to cars and the promise of home.
A man and his small daughter have
a Deli chicken; she cradles its warmth
as though a living thing. Suddenly
she stops beside the woman, offers
her the parcel. It rests in ungloved
hands until the man turns around,
reclaims their dinner.
No words exchanged.
More poems from the collection Blood Plums