yesterday i found a wallet
at first all i could think about was the reward
that someone would later thank me
for picking up the cards which had been scattered all over the road
i found a man around the corner
in a house divided down the middle
with a green fence
and no doorbell
he said his name was peter
the tattered old wallet belonged to a peter
a peter who had been broken
and then stuck back together
probably with sticky tape
he held the wallet tenderly in his hands
checking that nothing was missing
i had already searched it's contents
his contents
their contents
and found three hundred dollars, a train map and some photos
the goody kind with starry borders
and love hearts
he said he had a tough day
and his mind was all fuzzy
his eyes wandered
but i knew that he was grateful
he roughly pulled a fifty dollar bill
from the wallet i had found
but his wife shook her head
and gave me a twenty
i did not want it
but
i
took it
and they smiled
the next day peter came around the corner
to my house
i was not home
but he left some flowers
the kind which open into beautiful blooms
with little speckles
no doubt from the sun
and a card
which said "Thank you Abbie"
i did not care that my name was not abbie
because it did not matter
by Gaby
