testimony of the blind man by the roadside

when i heard that a condemned man
would shortly be paraded along
i stopped my begging and waited with the crowd

then in the midst of the uproar
i perceived a strange silence
move toward me like a ship

from that ship sailing past
raked by spitting and sneers
a great wave of legs billowed out

the wave piled up and advanced on me
seized me, shook me violently
so that even now I tremble