Side Walk Sniffer
Sometimes I call myself a side walk sniffer,
I don’t find it demeaning in any way.
You see growing up in small town Bristol
Taught me to keep things simple.
To enjoy nature, friends, laughter
Freedom.
I use to get so excited to sneak 25 cents from Mom’s purse
When she was sound asleep from working the night
Shift at the restaurant.
Knowing she had tip money in her purse and she was too tired
to say No.
Off I would go to Gaunces store to enjoy and
savor a delicious Fudgesicle.
I still buy them today
and still enjoy them the same.
You see we didn’t have much so little things were
Important.
T’is the same for me today, because I choose to live the same.
I like it- though I have privileges and freedoms
I did not have then, I do not take them for granted
And I enjoy them from the perspective of a side walk sniffer
Knowing at any moment it could all disappear
And I would be ok to return to
to my roots
Because I have never left them!
As I moved through my life I was never in a power position
So I relied on my street smarts to guide the Way.
Working from underneath as opposed to above.
I now know that is what saved me,
Because I was running a different script from those who wished
to suppress me.
So in the end, being a Side Walk sniffer served me Well.
Lori Ellis~McKinney (2014)