I bummed a cigarette from a faceless smoker, A stranger, just another nameless being in the city, Yet kind to another whom he never met before, In an act of benevolence or possibly simple pity . Ordinary life just happened readily in front of me, Main Street, picturesque shops and retail chains, Filled by hundreds of passer-bys, plain consumers trying to buy their way out of their spiritual pain. . Diverse churches were also jockeying for business. Children, men and women all praying for salvation, Looking for redemption from their beloved God, tricked into believing that they are the pinnacle of creation. . Contrary to what you may gather from an ad from Visa, Life is not unproblematic if you have lived it poorly, its many mistakes are not forgiven by pastors or priests whose interest we now distinguish as mostly worldly. . Truth has always been a stranger, a feared enemy, to some, Who prey on the masses ignorance and preach to me and you Hiding in dogma to mislead the uneducated and ill-informed, using the media to make us believe that we are all sinners too. . I now make my contribution to the carbon dioxide clouds, Produced by the exhaust pipes of buses advertising Coke, As the city’s pollution shamed my weak respiratory system, I pondered briefly while I inhaled a deep whiff of smoke. . How to get rich books now abound on the bookstore shelves To teach anyone how to profit from the swings in the Dow; I take another puff while I reach for change in my jean’s pocket, to help the illiterate homeless woman that will never know how. . Now my cigarette break is history and I must be on my way, I must bid adieu to all my listeners, companions and friends, As always, I must leave but will return at a date yet uncertain, Until my wandering days finally approach their awaited end. .