Towards A More Footloose Practice - II

Here's a revised version of the poem about Richard Musto's daily practice on the streets of Manhattan.

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Towards A More Footloose Practice – II

When Buddhist friends

Speak of this or that

As being part

Of their daily practice

I’m never quite sure

What they mean

But I believe

Richard Musto’s

Daily practice

Consists precisely of this --

Keeping things footloose

And fancy free

To the ultimate degree

It’s the mantra

He lives by

While traipsing

Through the city streets

And the very words

He taped to his boots

When we met

The other day
In Midtown

           

For Richard

Working the streets is 

Both means and end in itself

Whether panhandling or selling

Flowers on the corner 

It’s change that he seeks

And the freedom
That comes with it
But never the fixative

Of money