I Met A Frayed Man Poem by Raj Dronamraju

Spent and ragged and too much time in the afternoon sun
I met a frayed man when he tried to sell me something
He looked okay from a distance but close up, details fall apart
He was missing a button from his shirt which had threads dangling from it and he was unshaven and his eyeballs were crisscrossed with red blood vessel canals

She said
You are too healthy for me
You take Vitamin C every day
You get up very early in the morning to exercise
You keep it together and you have unusual stamina

I met a frayed man who was keeping it together the way a man dancing on the edge of a volcano keeps it together
His tone was shaky and unconvincing
Nothing is wrong is his poorly delivered message

I did not buy any insurance or magazine subscriptions from the frayed man
The hem of his pants had come undone and was flapping against his foot and his shoes were scuffed and battered
His smile was the smile of a man awaiting execution
Around the edges the picture curls upward and is warped