yin and yang

by peterbowes on June 4, 2024

He had a straggly grey beard that drooped about six inches down on both sides of his mouth, Zapata style, plus he wearing clothes that needed plenty of hard-armed work in a laundry tub. Add to that his skinny-legged jeans ; old wrinkled and nasty, a colourless shirt and thin-soled thongs on his very old unclean feet.
This old lad, as so mercilessly described was standing by a seat outside the local pharmacy. Looking here and there. Looking at me as I passed. Neither of us pretty.

And sitting on the footpath close by his feet was a little girl maybe a year old. Not an urchin. She too looked at me.

A discerning man had to say it.

With care.

’She’s prettier than you are mate.’

Copped a smile from him for that.

Job done.