“I’m not sure if night is ending or day is beginning. What time is it?” She asked as she opened the door.
“Its about 2:30” I answered.
She was pacing about slightly bobbing her head as she spoke.
“We're sorry to disturb you beloved. We're conducting a homeless census. May we ask you some questions?”
“I don’t want to be put away” she said. “I have to be outside.”
“We’re not here to hurt you. We’re here to help.”
"Where do you come from?" Ally asked.
She didn't remember where she was from and was uncertain why it mattered.
She knew she wanted to leave Paterson but was unsure about where she wanted to go.
She kept her eye on the McDonald’s across Market Street.
"As long as the light is on, I know its still nighttime and I'll have a place to go if the cops kick me out of here."
Here, was this evenings lodging in an ATM vestibule.
"I can also get something to eat when I'm hungry."
"What time is it?"
"Its about 2:30."
She earnestly wants to know what time it is.
"I don't want the people going to work in the morning seeing me sleeping here." she said, "It's embarrassing."
Her papers were scattered on the floor.
She had one shoe on and one shoe off. A white sock gloved an indeterminate number of other sock layers warming her shoe-less left foot, sufficient protection from the balmy mist of this late January evening. The orphaned shoe lay on its side in the corner of the Wells Fargo foyer.
White, black and yellow plastic grocery bags filled with the content of her worldly possessions lay atop the shelf housing bank deposit slips neatly stacked in cubbyholes.
A woolen hat circled her head. Her tiny face shone through the gray skull cap tightly tied under her soft chin.
She looked to be in her 50’s. She spoke in a pale uneven tempo with a quiet anxious voice. Her eyes were clear. Her pursed mouth bracketed by a trinity of long chocolate crescent winkles. The sounds floating from her mouth were gently angelic and the kindness of a tender smile was filled with demure submissiveness.
She swaddled herself in multiple layers of coats and trousers bulking up a waif like frame. Her outermost cloak, a gray trench coat was secured with a tightly wrapped knotted cloth belt. The coat was thoroughly soiled by a life of sleeping rough in the urban outback. The fabric boasted a consistency worthy of an Abercrombie and Fitch oil finished coat. The bulky layers rounded the frame of her shoulders. She resembled a small granite headstone.
"Whats your name?" I asked. She was reluctant to tell us. “I don’t like my name”.
We gently coaxed her.
“Carmen” she whispered.
“That's a beautiful name. Its the name of the most beautiful operas ever written.”
“I know. I’m gonna change my name someday.” she answered. “I never liked it.”
Ally finished taking the survey, leaving more questions unresolved than answered.
We gave Carmen a blanket, gloves, a hat. Some hot cocoa, two sandwiches and a chocolate bar. We implored her to visit our pantry when it opened in the morning for cloths, referrals and food. She was very grateful; but I don’t think she’ll ever make her way there.
I gave her my phone number; but I don’t think she’ll call.
“You are not forgotten beloved. You are deeply loved. Please remember that.” I said cupping her calloused hands within my palms.
“I know” the dainty caged bird cooed with a submissive smile.
“What time is it?”
As we left Carmen, I wondered how to count a person wishing to remain invisible.
Music Selection: Bizet’s Carmen, Habanera
Maya Angelou: I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings
Paterson
1/30/13
jbm
Part 8 of extended poem Silk City PIT. PIT is an acronym for Point In Time. PIT is an annual census American cities conduct to count the homeless population. Carmen was a person we found and counted during the census. Silk City is a nick name of Paterson NJ.