Fordham Veteran's Writing Project - Close Encounter

“Close Encounter”

A hot summer’s night In Washington, DC, I wandered,

looking for a place to have a peaceful dinner, alone.

Chinatown so close, I headed toward the gaudy, neon signs.

An old woman in a heavy, ratty fur collard coat took notice of me.

She - a diminutive black women, missing teeth and about sixty -

touched my arm.

“I need money so that I can eat for the first time today.”

Unexpectedly, I felt a welling up of emotion,

a feeling of tenderness, as if I were looking at my mother.

Would anyone have helped her?

Against my instinct to turn away

I blurted, “May I buy you dinner?”

In a nearby Subway Shop to a skeptical clerk

I said, “Give her whatever she wants and I will pay for it.”

She ordered a large roast beef sandwich,

a family-size bag of chips and a full liter bottle of Coke.

Afterwards, as we were leaving,

she turned back to the clerk

and tried to sell her the unopened Coke.

She refused to take it.