Newspaper Man

He sits on a dumpster dressed
in a rag-torn fleece jacket that he
found in another dumpster on his daily
journey around town.
He is a black man
covered in blackface
to scare away the demons.
He wears a self-designed newspaper hat
as a buffer to stop the voices.
Bits and pieces of the Daily News stuffed in
every hole in his jacket
deter evil from entering his body
or keep out the cold.
For a dollar he lets you take his photo.
A buck gets one shot.
If you try to snap another
he quickly turns away.
He has his pride.