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| Image source: PeakCare |
You might not see at first glance a wolf
in sheep’s clothing—neat jeans, scruffy shoes,
slicked-down hair--yet he dressed the part:
a destitute man seeking funds for surgery
for a cancer-sick son. His insistent ringing
of my doorbell startled me from a noonday
nap, cause enough for me to grouse, despite
his amiable face, infectious smile.
His cloak of smooth speech, humble look,
smiling sick son’s photo woke me enough
to ask his phone number instead of handing
the man money on the spot. Days later,
the little lamb is the picture of good health sitting
on his mom’s lap in a newspaper exposé of the wolf.
Earl J. Wilcox writes about aging, baseball, literary icons, politics, and southern culture. His work appears in more than two dozen journals; he is a regular contributor to The New Verse News. More of Earl's poetry appears at his blog, Writing by Earl.
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