Some Change

Her eyes open
It’s blurry and hard to see
Her bones crackle and pop as she extends each
One at a time
She unravels
And welcomes
The suns kisses across her face
Warming her forehead
All the way down to her feet

The day has begun
She knows there is much work to be done
She gathers up her backpack
Careful not to spill
She is already dressed
Ready to get started
She climbs out of her Burroughs

She walks

A growling sound sneaks up on her
She stops
To listen
And look

SHE JUMPS
frightened
And then laughs
And sighs in relief
When she realizes
It’s just her tummy saying hello

She walks

She hums a little melody
And keeps a bright smile on her face

She walks

She smacks her lips together
Her dry crusted lips
Am I drinking enough water?
She asks herself
Trying to remember
When did I eat last?

She walks

She waves hello to all of the people
Waking up
Crawling out of their beds
Hello!
Good morning Friend!
They all know who she is

She walks

Her legs are very tired today
Her smile is hard to keep
But they can never take that away from her
Thinking about that
She smiles
Bigger than before
Through the pain

She stops
Drops her backpack between her legs
Unzips
And pulls out a cardboard sign that reads
Spare some change?

As she waits
Hungry
Not knowing when she will eat next
Not knowing when she will drink next
With the only thing they couldn’t take from her
And she shares this smile
With anyone who will see her

Anyone who would like to participate
Click here: https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-12-5-minute-freewrite-prompt-some-change

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Thank you @mariannewest