Takeout
Julie Rogers
walking to the restaurant:
someone heaped in a blanket
on the sidewalk next
to a wheelchair
this person could reach
the metal frame, pull it over
and hold on while laying down—
parked that close
we kept going and enjoyed
pasta, oysters, wine
went to hear the blues
trudged back up Vallejo St.
that same man was busy
being on the spot and I said
would you like a bite
of a delicious meal?
I felt his eyes, his smile
lit both of us. He said “Yes!
that would be great!” and
took the bag. Love (to go).
for the gentleman, Mary and Sarah
North Beach, SF
11-23-25
Julie Rogers’ poetry first appeared in SF during the late 1970’s. She is the author of six chapbooks, a Buddhist hospice manual, Instructions for the Transitional State, and a selected collection, House of the Unexpected, and her poetry can be seen in various anthologies. She is the founder and director of TLC Transitional Life Care, a Buddhist end of life educational and support program.
