A Treasure
When I first arrived
In the Bay Area,
In 1976,
I had no prospects,
To get by
I worked
Temporary jobs
Through an agency.
One job I had,
That everyone has seen,
Was to hold up
A sign
One side saying “stop”
And the other side
“Slow”
To control traffic
On a street
Where construction
Was going on.
It was a lightly traveled road
Which made the work
Easy,
And that was nice
As I was
New at it.
I was paired
With a young man
My age or
A bit younger,
He had a slighter build
Compared to me,
Although I was
Skinnier then, too.
He was a friendly fellow,
Easy to like,
And being on my own
And somewhat isolated
It was nice to have
Someone to talk to
When we ate lunch
Together
On a patch of grass
By a tree.
It turned out to be a 2-day gig,
Although scheduled
For a week,
But still I learned much
About him
During moments of
Slow traffic,
Our breaks and lunch.
On the first break
On the second day,
He mentioned he did not
Have to shave
As much
As he was
Taking hormones
To become
A woman.
And I had said,
“That's great,
“I hated shaving.”
At lunch,
I found out
That both he
And his roommate
Were saving
For operations,
For sometime
Within the next year.
At the end
Of the last break,
After he had used
A nearby payphone
To call the agency,
He told me
He had a job
Tomorrow
At a department store,
And they were going
To allow him
To dress as a woman
And wear pantyhose.
He was so happy,
His smile was so large
And his eyes so bright
The light from his face
Became embedded
Into my memory.
Then the foreman
Came over
To say the job
Was finished
And we could leave
Early
Although he signed us out
With a full 8 hours
Of work.
We turned in our signs
And vests,
Said goodby
And went to catch,
Our separate buses.
I never saw him
After that,
The agency
Never paired us
Again
At another task,
And soon I got
A regular job.
I have thought often
Of him since
For in those
Last few minutes
Together
I had seen more
Than just happiness
I had caught
A glimpse
Of what freedom is,
A chance to be
Your truest self
In public,
Which for her
Would come tomorrow
When she could be
The woman
She truly was
Inside
In the world's eye.
Throughout the years
I have wished
That I could thank her
For the treasure
I have carried
That she gave me
Of that taste
Of freedom.
© 2019 Carl Scott Harker
This poem, based upon my memory, is, I believe, relevant to today’s political and social moment. You can find my most recent book of poetry on Amazon here: Poems by My Cat.