Billie who slept
on sidewalks nearby
would also slump against
our house in a stupor

Billie’s world was small
dwindled to this locale
where he claimed his hard bed
and no one messed with his cart

I worried about
his dreams
getting caught
in our walls

I suppose they did
because I still think of him
sleeping under the bright parking lot lights
which made him feel safe he said

I think he just wanted
to be invisible,
for no one to confront him
as he kept his routine

when 911 would come often
he told them
he was just resting from
folding his laundry and they would leave

911 finally took him away one day
where he died
in the hospital
of a very long list

When I turn the corner
and look around the side wall
of our house, I still imagine
I might see Billie