I saw a man at the end of his rope today. It was on the I405 bridge
A bridge high above the city of lights and staying weird
There was a police car and a fire truck that inconvenienced our lives by slowing us down and forced us to merge right
I saw the man was on the ledge just past the sirens.
He was ready to let go of this place of lights
I could see him climb back towards the freeway over the ledge
He lifted his leg and his pants with the ends tugged into his boots, over the abyss
With some struggle
I felt happy that he found his way back.
When I passed the cop car to rubber neck like the rest of us lemmings, I caught a glimpse of his profile
He was wearing a blue, puffy down jacket and a grey beanie cap with the ends rolled up
He had a wiry beard and his face was weathered like a well used baseball catchers mitt
His sad eyes were bearing down on the helping and caring fireman in front of him
Pleading eyes - searching for help
Distraught was the look I saw
Sad. No hope.
Save me…fucking help and save me
He was at the end of his rope and it made me cry hidden tears
I don’t know if God is real.
But I reached out with all my energy to hug him and give him a moment of peace and comfort
I prayed that the God would kiss his forehead and tell him it’s ok
I do that sometimes to people I feel deserve or need it
I don’t know if it works. But I try anyway
The mans silhouette will be forever etched in my mind