River Brown

A man hunches over a shopping cart

digging in the castoffs

by the freeway

My car zips by.

A boy hunched over an old table

working to read a book

by himself

My heart goes out.

I tugged on the huge multi-limb branch

the redwood tree dropped

by the garden

The saw chewed.

The cat dives up on the card table

over the jigsaw puzzle

by the window

My mom laughed.

The sun came up on time

diving toward noon

by the clouds

My day rolled by.