sweet melodies strummed on a melancholy guitar sends chills down my spine, i can feel the man behind the melody crying out through the chords, singing out his soul through the music, and his current state of affairs is dampening the otherwise peaceful mood of the day. a man in a business suit tosses him the spare change from the latte he just purchased at starbucks. the man is so beside himself in his song however, he fails to notice the gesture. i wonder what it is that has brought him here, and if he has a home or not. i wonder what i have to give to this man that is pouring out his heart and soul to me, speaking to me on levels i almost forgot were there, i reach in my pocket and all i have is chapstick and a piece of gum.

i toss him the gum, and when he looks up i smile and mouth thank-you. hardly sufficient, but at least he knows someone is listening.

when the green line pulls up a minute later i climb on without looking back. it seems cruel at the time, but i have faith that my friend will not spend the rest of his life playing in the warmth of the T station to an imaginary audience that changes with the flow of the trains. and then again, maybe he will. either way his fate is left up to him from now on, because we all reach a point in our own lives where sooner or later you have the power to change your future, and only you.

its time to start changing.

ps. merry christmas.