The Gorko Gazette

Daily Humor

thegorkogazette

9.19.2026 6:28 AM

Dreadlocks by Arthur Neong

Dreadlocks

I always see that man,
dreadlocks and carrying a bottle,
slinging a bag
smiling
walking.
Today he’s sitting down
across the window and alley on the bench of the
closed-down Taco Bell.
A busy business district.
And he has all the world to himself.
The richest poorest man in the world.
None will pay him attention for fear of his attention.
But it is his dreadlocks I remember.
And his smooth skin.
Perhaps he hasn’t been in the streets for long.
Where does he sleep and where does he wander off?
To truly feel alone, all one needs is to stay cooped up at home.
But for the poor and homeless, perhaps you’ll still have the world,
just not to yourself.
Become a witness to participants.
But even participants don’t play all that much.
The best things in life are free and free he’ll be were he not that lonely.
I peek at him through the Tim Horton’s blinds.
Pretty soon he’ll be lost to the hurrying crowd and time.
I think if I were to talk to him
wisdom might start dropping out
from his toothless mouth. (I would be like Keanu Reeves
except I’m not Keanu Reeves. He might be Keanu Reeves.)
And I will be wiser,
if not for my fear.

About the artist

Arthur Neong is a Malaysian Chinese. Having taught for 11 years, he now delineates the maelstrom of thoughts and visuals. His works have appeared in Tap Into Poetry, Oddball Magazine, Masticadores Taiwan, Shift, Pen to Print, Silver Birch Press, and others.