three carts.... first day homeless

black asphalt, 
concrete sidewalk,
three shopping carts loaded way
too full, like morning light 
flooding the crosswalk 
where she waits, 
in motionless,
silence...
light goes green,
still waiting, still waiting,
still, so still,
waiting...

single woman
my age
hands on one
cart, two left
behind, ready
to push off, but
where to go?
how to get there?
who to call?
what to leave behind?
wandering, wondering: 
when will life change?
nothing makes
sense

in the raw hours 
of morning, long
before night falls 
she feels her
normal life
dropping away
off the cliff, feels
the cloak of
homelessness
drape itself
cold and heavy
across her
shoulders.