On a Whim

When I read my daughter's post this evening about NaBloPoMo*, I decided without giving it much thought to try to write and post something here on the Willow's Cottage blog every day this month.  I wonder if I can keep up the momentum.  Because I'm a writing teacher, I feel a bit obligated to write well and sometimes that keeps me from writing at all.  Silly, huh?

The following is a two paragraph descriptive essay I recently wrote about a homeless man I saw at the local library.    

      Dejected and downhearted, the bareheaded young man sat slumped against the library building wall, slowly sucking on a discarded cigarette butt because it was all he had.  He focused on each puff, the smoke as gray as the foggy day.  After the butt was extinguished, he continued to sit, head bowed, hand over face, his head pounding with the overpowering pain of what felt like a migraine.  Tom had a hangover. 

     Library patrons passed him where he squatted near the front entrance, some ignoring him altogether, the proverbial elephant in that outdoor courtyard room, others glancing furtively and quickly in his direction, careful to never make eye contact.  He, in turn, ignored them all focusing his gaze inward on his own self-imposed misery.  Clad in faded blue jeans, once white sneakers and a gray fleece jacket with empty pockets, he stood slowly, stretched clumsily, and shuffled off noisily, searching for water, warmth and welcome.

*National Blog Posting Month