i am a vagabond. the name more romantic than the reality. No, it is not my name. It is the name of my state. beggar, bum, vagrant, riff-raff, tramp, derelict, panhandler, mooch. refuse of humanity.
I am Missionary. Devil Dodger, Glory Roader, Bible Thumpah, Holy Rolluh. A man of the cloth. A paltry, tattered, whiskey-soaked cloth it is. Drop a Dollah in my hat and I’ll be saving your soul, son. No snake swallering here. Just the good Lawd’s word to wrest your sorry soul from the clutches of Hell’s minions. Buy a tramp a coffee. A donut and I have a saint’s relic for you.
This is my Corner. God grants us all very little in this life that is truly ours. For me it is this corner in His City. Yes, this city, with its scandalous acrid stench singeing our nostrils and heinous humidity heavy on our shoulders, is God’s City.
From this corner I shall proclaim to the world my deeds. I am the man to whom all things are known. I am the pontiff who knows the countries of the world. I am wise, see mysteries and know of secret things.
“I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless. Between you and me I will cut a covenant, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”
I guess she doesn’t want to be multiplied. Stuck up. With her smart suit and clattering pumps, she is off to screw some goat in a similarly smart suit picked out by his wife who has never worn a smart suit. i did once. wore a smart suit that is. Besides, I am sure the tactile experience of the tattered Bible I wave holds little spiritual value for her next to the chatroom vision quest afforded her by the laptop in her shoulder bag. lucidity. she seeks. my corner. lafayette square. i can walk just a couple minutes and get a whiskey or tobacco or a Ham sandwich. And a little furthuh I can get some beignets and coffee in the quartah courtesy of some tourist.
“Moni, give ya fatha a dollah!”
“Ya not mah fatha, ya ole goat! Ya mah lovuh, dahlin. Heah’s five.” Her soul is worth saving, if only to keep that body o’hers movin’ round heah.
“You’re a saint, luv. The Lawd says ta honuh your fatha and mutha and ya do, dahlin. Ya keep ya fatha in good spirits.”
