March 21, 2004 (idea)

a kid on my step
kind of nervous, eyes begging to escape
playing with a cheap tie
wearing a cheap suit
can't be comfortable in the heat.
Sir he says, and it's odd, that someone would call me sir
Sir he says, might I talk to you about the Word of God?

the book he clutches like a winning lottery ticket
Is an all-time best seller
like many classics, it has its detractors.

a man behind him, little older, overlooks the whole exchange.
Sir, says the kid, still shaking, there is beauty in all of us
and I nod, because I agree
and I don't want to discourage him
because there is beauty in all of us--

Even in this kid, sweaty and scared
shitty suit and shiny father
shaking on my porch.