Michelle Renee Kidwell
This is the conclusion of the two part storytelling poem…
On A Dime
He held out a hand eagerly
Dirty and broken
An old dog his only companion.
It hadn’t been long ago
He had been a mere boy
A soldier at eighteen
He had nearly died
In that far off land.
She nearly walked passed him
Then she looked him in the eye
That Boy Soldier from a lifetime ago
Though it had only been a few years.
The years had been not kind
To him.
And her heart hurt.
Life hadn’t been kind
She reached into her purse
For a couple of twenties then
Realized she needed to do something More.
She handed him the twenties
But had something bigger on her mind.
Life had been good to her
Even with what she had lost
On that Desert Sand.
“I know you.” He said
A glint of recognition in his eyes
“You saved my life.
I thought you had died.”
“As you can see
I am very much alive.
What happened to bring you here?”
“Life can change on a Dime.” He said
“And mine changed for the worse.
She shook her head
“This won’t do
No soldier should sleep in the streets.”
She led him to a hotel room
She rented for two weeks
By then she’d find a more permanent Solution.
“It looks like you did
Well for yourself.”
She reached in her bag and
Handed him a book
Titled “On Desert Sand, and soon he Realized despite everything
She had done well for herself.
“Thank you.” He said
As she walked out the door
On two feet that weren’t her own.
True to her word just two weeks
Later she came back to the hotel room
Where he had been staying.
Helped him gather his few belongings
And led him to her car.
“You drive?” He asked
“Yes hand controls.” She laughed.
Before long they pulled into a driveway
A tiny house
Full of all the necessary amenities.
She handed him the keys
“This is your’s.” She said
And then pointed to an F150 in the
Driveway “That’s yours too.
This isn’t a handout
But a hand up she said.
“And when you get back on your feet
You can Pay it Forward.”
He smiled at her
And said
“Once again you save my life.
Once again everything changes on a Dime.”
(C) Michelle R Kidwell
March 29, 2017
