"Floating ... and Crashing"

There was a stoplight,
a large intersection,
a square piece of cardboard,
an early morning breeze
and me.

The cardboard was lifted
from the ground by the breeze.
It began to dance lightly in the air,
floating up and dipping down.
It flipped end over end
and raced in front of me
as if it was a square tire.

Then the morning's breeze ceased
and the cardboard sadly floated
to the middle of the intersection.
It fell onto the hood of a moving car
and then onto the road.
I noticed words scribbled on it ...
"WILL WORK FOR FOOD."
Car after car sped over it,
leaving tire tracks on the words.

It was then when I wondered
about the person
who had written the words.
Who was this person?
Where was this person?

What changed this life
from one that once danced
joyfully and lightly on the
cool breezes of their days
to the life that found the need
to write such words
and hold this cardboard
along the roads of life?

Who was this person
who was much like
the cardboard
that he or she once held ...
floating one moment
in full view
and invisible the next?

The light turned green
and yet for a moment
I didn't move ...
I couldn't move
for I found myself praying.

(c) anna murdock