the misstep
momentum
going forward
smack
land on knees
rip and roll
to save face
not far enough
to reach green strip
between street
and sidewalk
pain and smell
of blood
suddenly someone
beside me to steal
my stuff
no, to ask
are you alright
and another and another
shake head slowly
head aching no 911
I mutter “I’m a faller.”
no one asks or judges me
addict, drunk,
homeless or insane
some one has a water bottle
another a cloth
triage on Hemlock Street
propped up against
a garden wall
paranoiac waves
storm over me as
someone says
you can’t walk home
like that
one of us will
give you a drive
No, I scream
taxi discussed
smart phone figures out
where I will be
someone shoves
money into my
shaking hand
taxi money
to repay the night
of kindness
I don’t look away
from castaways
staggering or
wandering
too high
to notice direction
I pick up the fallen
I give all of them
my arm
lead them
to where they
want to go
and I never judge
the address
shape shifting 
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