A small shadow appears through the glass
Moving slowly, haltingly
Bent over tired from hours on The Machine
A larger, more upright shadow waves goodbye
The nurses are compassionate here as all should be
A feeble tap on the big blue button and the doors chug open
To reveal the lone figure
Red quilted parka in summer heat, canvas bag with blanket inside
He gently takes her arm
Towers over her like a skyscraper as they inch along side by side
Looks down upon thinning gray hair and leathery wrinkled skin
But her dark eyes are bright her face a grateful smile
She murmurs something he cannot understand
Probably hello or thank you
Were you VC he wants to ask
Were you VC did you shoot at us
Did you boobytrap us did you kill us
Did I pay you five dollars to lay with me
He holds the taxi door for her as if she were his own mother
Six dollars six dollars is all he gets for this run
Half for the owner minus gas and taxes equals nothing
But it is not empty charity
It is not empty charity because in his heart he knows it is right
Small children swarm from the comfortable suburban home and surround her
Tug at her arms, dance around her and
Chatter in delight in the rhythmic language that takes him back
Thank you she says, louder this time and her eyes shine bright
Overseeing it all from atop the stairs is
An older man dressed in polite clothing
With the bearing of a colonel or general an enemy officer perhaps
But now he is simply the husband of a brave dying woman
And protector of a happy clan
He smiles and holds his hand up in a form of salute as if to say
All is forgiven my friend
All is forgiven.