Beloved Beautiful Homeless

Hello Beloved Beautiful Homeless
I do not know your name but
today I sat next to you
side by side, my bench and yours,
and smelled you as I watched
the pigeons and small birds
eating casually in the shady, sage-green grass.

Beloved Beautiful Homeless, I
have a question to ask you.
Why do you wear thick, fluffy, fleece pants
so very faded when it is 80F out today?
Is it because the nights are much colder
as you sleep out on these tired and tiring wooden benches
gazing up at the picturesque starry night sky here in Union Square?

You remind me of how my grandfather
looked before he died, Beloved Beautiful Homeless.
He too sat quietly avoiding conversations
all around choosing to stare and stare
and stare blank-faced into the world around him.
I loved him dearly and wonder what he must
have been thinking those many days; it is likewise with you