Today

G.H. Goins

Today

This morning, I woke up not knowing what the day would bring. Just like any other morning these past couple of years. Living in New York isn't exactly wonderful. It's been a cold winter, with hardly any food, no job, and no place to live besides the streets and back allies of the vast city. I went to the port to see if I could get a job, but I wasn't chosen today. They choose a few workers every day to work just for that day that they were chosen on. It's been thirteen days in a row that I haven't been chosen. Maybe it's my physical appearance; scrawny, struck by malnutrition, and dirty. I am getting quite filthy but washing is the least of my worries these days. After that, I went to the market to see if I could pick up some bread; pick up as in take. I don't like stealing. I actually loathe it. I don't have much of a choice though. I've learned to be good at taking without being seen or caught. I've had to learn. Anyway, I was successful. I spent the rest of the day looking for places to sleep that looked warmer than where I slept last night. "There's always a warmer place," I say. I didn't have any luck, so I came back here, where I am writing this now; an old, grimy alley with garbage cans and a couple of other guys, dirtier than me. To be honest, I'm not really sure what they do all day. I don't pretend to be an interesting person. This is my occupation; surviving. I survived yesterday, I am surviving today, and hopefully, I'll survive again tomorrow. Thank you, dear reader, for taking this time to read about my day, as I write on this wrapper of God-knows-what.