NOSE

I was waiting for the light to turn,

looking at nothing really,

a white house on the corner,

half a dozen businesses

someone’s dream for making it big,

being the boss,

then by chance glanced into

the brown car there next to me.

It was beat up, had lost its shine

and behind the wheel

waited a tarnished old man

whose heroic nose

made me do a double-take...

twice

I tried to look away,

back to the ordinary

but unable to keep my gaze

from returning

in slow motion,

my eyebrows arching

to figure out the deception of light

or shadow

on this bright day

but there was no denying

that dill pickle

hanging past his mouth

from between tragic eyes

watching the light;

use to by now the attention

garnered from strangers

like me,

who saw his unkempt clothes

and car

and face

I thought surgery might have helped

way back when he was small

living with parents who were crude

from poverty, never thought,

got use to him,

he got use to cruelty,

defeated before he began.

The light changed

and he rattled away.

Reviews

[Lorry]

Aw man!
Well, when I woke up this morning Vol, I didn't think I'd be rooting for the big nosed guy in your piece, feeling so sad for a dude I didn't know existed before reading this and all I can think to say is, well we are a judgy bunch of catty b*****s at times, ain't we?
We go through life assuming so much crap, instantly prethought garbage, that having it pointed out to us, as I was reading your fine piece. (I am hanging my head in shame as we speak!)
Thankfully for me though, the good thing about hanging your head in shame, Is that you can't see all those shame filled eyes, hating you for interrupting their scheduled thoughts.
Plus, you get to see some lovely sidewalk too! 😊

[Vol]

Lorry,
I've already responded to your comment once, but my response seems to have disappeared. And this is not the first time. The first time I say "the nose," I was awed, and not dissimilarly from when I saw a chimpanzee beg for cigarettes at the zoo, arm stuck through the bars imploring eyes, so when we flicked a butt his way, he'd pick it up and puff it to the end (sidewalks do have their attractions). Some things are just too surprising to not respond... like the first pirate whose parrot started up a conversation, or a guy with some elephant genes in his distant background...
Vol

[Lorry]

Or the dog in those pot commercials talking to their owner about how they don't like it when they're stoned!
Why didn't she reply "I've had you 8 years and this is how you decide to tell me you can talk? You think I like watching you drag your a*s over my carpet, you ungrateful little sh*t! I knew I should have went with the cat! 😊

[John the Baptist]

Did you ask if his name was Cyrano?

[Vol]

John!
HAHAHAHA! Cyrano was a piker.
Vol

[John the Baptist]

Thanks, Vol. Glad you weren't offended. I do have a rather gritty sense of humor, which has gotten me blocked in the past. After I posted, I wondered if it seemed like I was making fun of the poor man's plight.

[Vol]

John,
My first job out of high school was the graveyard shift in a hospital ER, I spent the 80s selling insurance door to door... The only thing that still offends me is deliberate stupidity... I don't find much of that in the commentaries here, and certainly not from you and your literary reference! So... "Lay on McDuff!"
Vol

[willweb]

And in truth is it is entirely possible that this man, seemingly deformed at birth, if you can call a larger than normal nose, deformed, sitting in his old but reliable vehicle has not a care in the world and enjoys who he is. You never know. I could see this Vol and for some reason it made me sad. But, I am weird like that.

[Vol]

WW,
Made me sad as well, it was not just a large nose, it reached all the way down to his chin, and must have impeded his ability to feed himself.
Vol