New Suit

He moved slowly closer to the fire,
putting his bare hands over the flames,
and rubbed them together, grinding,
to try to get blood flowing back
there.

He looked at the other men,
sitting around the barrel and looking
mean with old beards and lost eyes
and the heavy smell of stale piss,
and looked down at his new gray suit
and long, black overcoat, and shiny
black shoes reflecting the orange flames.
He could barely see the argyle black and
gray socks his wife bought him last
Christmas.

It's all right that I'm here, right? He asked,
looking around at the piranhas and hyenas
and vampire bats.

You don't mind that I stopped for a
moment? I was just cold, you see...
He tried to explain, already back-
-pedaling back into the cold night.