The Streets of Portland

Those were her last six dollars, Tx gave to one of the women in the safe-houses. Tx’s been clean for months now, except when she got drunk for two days straight. They opened her heart to save her life. That was the close call that turned her life around. She has five children. Some repeated the cycle, but now she is trying to break it. For the food we’re giving out in the park, warm is the only standard. A man wrapped in a blanket approaches us and asks for long sleeves. Tx takes off her sweatshirt and offers it to the man. She has to take the bus back and it’s cold; and it’s raining.