 Prancing through the streets, each step in the dirt, the mud, the puddles, and the grime, track to the next. Treasure found in the trash at a seafood restaurant, a sweet confection at a bakery, and sour milk licked up at a fudge shop.
This lifestyle isn’t easy. The weather is extreme. The hurricanes, the lightning, the afternoon downpours, all dampen the day with heavy humidity to wear into the night. Heat intensifies the weight of a coat, missing in patches, yet still sturdy enough to shield against a chilly breeze from a rare cold front. There are few to trust on these streets littered with vagrants. The homeless, the pimps, the dealers, and the tourists seek survival, a trick, a deal, and a thrill. Screams in the night prevent a pleasant rest. Life has no value on the streets. A glance inside windows of a home filled with smiles provides hope. A fresh meal, conversation, a warm bath, and an embrace from a loved one, provide the stories shared with few friends. A litter bound by dreams and experiences, often nine lives is too much to consider when the challenges of each day seem a lifetime. If only a door would open, an opportunity present itself, a spotlight shining to share. Only then would a return to the stage be possible. A cat’s eye view in the darkness is not a trait shared with a broken down, homeless ballerina shadowed in the alleys of a tropical oasis of broken hearts. The dance continues until the day the dream is no longer a flutter in the heart, a sparkle in the eyes, and while feet sing a silent tune of graceful flow. The dance continues until the last curtain call.
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I laughed with a homeless lady today,
We shared a moment, a story common to conversations - The weather, "A storm is coming!" The wind whipped through the streets, Skies darkening and droplets pelting our heads. Indeed, the storm was coming, Neither of us acknowledged that it had already arrived, A darkness in the shadow of the streets, Brightened by her smile and her giggle. The storm moved her to rise from her resting spot To spread the word to bystanders, Waiting for a seat at a restaurant for their next meal. As we walked in opposite directions, I could still hear her saying, "A storm is coming!", Her message continued, followed by a gentle joy and heavy heart. |
Robert StanhopeWriter and photographer. Archives
July 2024
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