Trash Collector by Bogdan Dragos

I don’t know what was

more impressive

about him

the fact that he

collected trash

in a bag that was

at least three

times bigger than himself

and carried that bag

on his back

or the fact that

it was winter

and he was only

in shorts

and wasn’t cold

That one evening when

he approached me

in the store’s parking lot

he asked if I’d

seen any cans

I reached into my

shopping bag

and gave him one.

A can of beer

He shook his head

at it. “Nah, man, I can’t

take it like this.”

“What d’ you mean?”

I asked

He pointed at

it. “This ain’t trash,

man. It’s a perfectly

fine can

of beer. I only

take trash.”

Something told me that

the time

and the place was not

for arguing or

demanding explanations

You don’t just

ask a man like him to