Failed Charity

Pulling into a cheap motel

by a gas station on a crisp night,

I noticed a man leaning against a wall.

When I shut off the car he approached

and asked if I had any extra food.

I gave him some bread and a banana 

from what I had been eating on the front seat.

He said his car broke down and he was broke.

I found my room and came back 

to move the car to it.

He was gone. 

And I think how I could have given him fifty dollars,

an old jacket and some gloves from the back.

I could have said: You’ll get through this night.

Instead, it is mine to regret again.