Who Is a Righteous Man? by Howie Good

In Jewish tradition,
a righteous man is buried
with 144 prayer books
on top of his coffin.

When my Uncle Lou
was buried, they put
the books in cardboard boxes
labeled Kitchen Utensils.

Today, at a traffic light
on Mass Ave., a panhandler
in a filthy Patriots jersey
shuffled over to my car.

I didn’t roll down the window.
I didn’t acknowledge him.
I just stared straight ahead,
trying to will the light to change.



Howie Good is the author of The Death Row Shuffle, a poetry collection forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.