erosion

a surprisingly clear voice slipped out of the man
(a mountainous ruin of dirt and melanin
strained through decades
of beard and a thick bramble of graying hair)-

behind the glass the gleaming children
under wedges of thin fluorescence
smiled and slowly
wore down ice cream cones, shepherded
pressed, by the captain
of the white Mercedes parked slightly askance
the lines
demarcating the adjoining spots --

"do you have any money?", his voice held
no fear, no resignation, no pride
no shame
there was no salient thread to grasp and unravel
the man had no story

a simple question
a simple implication
a rock settled and eroding in a river,
smooth and tired and still