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VANQUISHED VAGABONDS
Down by an abandoned train depot
long lost to the ravels of time
homeless denizens of wintry streets
(vanquished vagabonds seek sanctuary)
huddled transfixed around a barrel of fire
wrinkled faces belying their ages
rot gut whiskey guzzled from
brown rumpled paper sacks
(plucked from inside pockets
of aged threadbare trench coats)
snowflakes trickling on noses
reddened from wintry winds
a cardboard box scattered by the wind
a body of an old woman revealed
her toothless mouth frozen for the ages
in a sublime smile lost in eternity.
