A shared sadness

Thursday night, the heat broke. Better
my heart. It's hardness was sadly
revealed to me, too late to do much about it.

"How's your day?"
I innocently asked
a young man,
squating along Broadway.

His pup lay beside him, dispirited.
Too tired, too hot. No wag left.
He barely lifted his head to acknowledge me.

Th weary dog's owner thought about his day.

"They pulled some girl out of the water
at Madison Park" was his answer.

His street companion was incredulous.
"No shit? You saw this?"

"Yep."

The brief sad tale hung there for a moment,
all of us keeping silence.

I mumbled some
lame banal blessing,
and continued on my way.
"Pray for me will you?"
he shouts down the sidewalk.

So tonight I will pray.

I will pray for a young man,
witness to one great sadness
after another in his short life.

And I will pray for myself,
for eyes to see
at once,
instead of waking up
to a lost moment
a day later.