A derelict woman with tangled hair
unkempt shirt, open pants, peeling skin
stabs her hand through the night at me,
rattling a grimy paper cup,
urgently demanding money.
She refuses to sink into the pavement
and disrupts my prosperous transit
through this secure world.
A glimpse of her unzipped flesh,
beckons violent visions
of mindless sex, vicious rape.
Helpless to alter her destiny
my lack of power
sends my hand to my pocket
seeking coins to oblivion.