shelter night, continued

this place smells like a secret

the air is smokey with
the musk of unwashed bodies
often worn socks
and tattered embarrassment

a large man snores against the wall
the tables have been cleared of dinner

polite conversation
among a few stray men
is punctuated
by outbursts
that make no sense
and are mostly ignored

across the room the baby smiles
in his shelter bed

all his beds have been shelter beds

he has learned to laugh quietly
to play with odd packages

and to linger in the sympathy
of strangers