Charity Rolls Her Window Down

She sat at the red light 

where the man held the sign

that said his car needed fixed

so he could go back to work.

I felt the purr of my own 

trustworthy vehicle under me,

the soft edges of a robust credit card 

nestled in my cashless wallet.

She had pulled in front of me

without signaling her intent.

She had sat too long at the previous 

light, likely looking at her phone.

But when her hand extended from 

her window with a dollar bill

lightly held for the man to take

I suddenly felt all was forgiven.

That whatever she did or didn’t do 

(apart from crashing into me) 

I would accept graciously from this 

mom smiling in her rearview mirror.

***