To pay my way
through college,
I worked nights
in a store.
Still, well-clothed people
watched us
in dim light
after the receipts
had been counted
and I wondered
what they did
after we left.
Then, while
juggling my paintbox
on a jammed bus,
I met an artist
who, while in Europe,
had paid his
way through life
carving manniquins.
I had never
considered a hand
behind the eyes
that watched
from darkened
aisles and wondered
about other masterpieces
lurking in plain sight.