A Poem a Day (452): A life in packages

 
A life in packages
 
She carries her life in packages
tied to her back with straps,
pushing a cart in front of her,
piled up with bags and sacks.
 
A black cat sits on the sodden street
watching, his eye on it all, waiting
for something edible to drop.
her stick is poised but she waits
 
For the rain to peter out to naught,
the drains spouting water. It runs
down the cobbles, creating throughways
where she waits under a locked shop front.
 
The bell is silent, the owners asleep.
The cat moves closer to her heels,
rubs its flank against her lower legs,
and she bends to stroke his wet fur.
 
Copyright Vickie Johnstone, July 12, 2021