Clear Plastic Raincoat

Fence. Photo by Kyla

(For Susie and Howie)

When my papa died
he put on his clear plastic raincoat
so we would know it was him.

That elegant man, always
well dressed on a poverty wage
chose to wear a clear plastic raincoat
for his own mysterious reasons.

But because no one else would wear
such a garment by choice,
and also because we could see through it,
it identified him perfectly.

My mom and I held hands
and followed behind him,
the man in the clear plastic raincoat
whom we still recognized clearly,
until he passed through
a chainlink fence
and walked on from there.

We knew we could follow no further,
possibly because we lacked
clear plastic raincoats ourselves
and we didn't see how he did it,
so we stood still and watched.
There he went,
not looking back once.

Gone. Photo by Kyla