I don’t argue with the blind man
Tending the courthouse lunch counter.
I ask for change of a dollar –
He feels the size and edge of the coins.

Tending the courthouse lunch counter
With the help of a talking register,
He feels the size and edge of each coin
But still give me ninety-one cents.

With the help of a talking register,
He manages a meager living,
But he gave me ninety-one cents,
Mistaking a penny for a dime.

He manages a meager living,
But sometimes the good senses cheat him.
He mistook a penny for a dime,
But I say nothing, for I know

That sometimes, good senses cheat us,
In our favor, or against us,
And we say nothing, for we know
That our vision of the world is imperfect.

In our favor, or against us,
We ask for little change,
For our vision of the world is imperfect,
And we don’t argue with our blindness.


[First published in Writer Online, Oct. 16, 2001.]

10/08/2001

Posted on 10/08/2001
Copyright © 2025 Bruce W Niedt