HANDOUT

The man who stands at the light
at Third and Market holding a sign
that says out of work has been
here every morning for the past

two months. Today I'm the third
car back and this time, for the first
time, I take a dollar bill
and hold it out the window.

The February wind waves it.
He sees and walks quickly toward
me, his tattered coat poor protection
from the cold. He takes it and

wishes me God's blessing. I wonder
why, instead of feeling virtuous
and blessed, I feel embarrassed.
For him, but mostly for me.