Now Vs. Then

I nodded my head as she muttered words
Such as
Outrage, injustice, and malfeasance
I Tried to listen intently as she explained 
Losing her window cube at her job
Pissed off, teetering along the lines of tirade
She sipped from 
her mother's  crystal
Wine glass
Asked 
How was
your day, sweetie
I told her 
it was 
Good, she pried for more detail
When I told her I met a man
While I stood outside the Damen stop
Taking 
drags as
Quick as I could
The man reeked of booze and piss,
his skin seemed caked with the grime
from under about a million different
mechanics fingernails

He said 
he was 
a hero once
My girlfriend gave me a look 
Of boredom, the kind of looks
I saw at business seminars
I told her how I instantly wrote him off, just another homeless lunatic
She chuckled a little, why she did I hadn't the faintest idea
He continued with his short story telling me of how he saved the lives of a few hundred men
As I threw my cigarette to the ground, trying to listen to him as the blue line ran over our heads
He followed me up the stairs to the platform, saying he wouldn't mind the company
I inquired about how he saved lives, curious to see 
If I was correct in assuming he was a nut
He wouldn't spill the beans, said he wasn't about praise
I asked if he lived up the blue line at Logan Square or Jefferson Park
Since he was heading along with myself away from the 
city
Told me he was just wanting to stay warm on the train for the night
Hoping a cop wouldn't roust him

The El was two stops away from where I got off
When the man slid off his jacket and reached into his ripped Walgreen's bag
I noticed a tattoo of one of the US military branches
His sweatshirt came up as he reached deeper into the bag on the floor
Exposing scars that looked like I had seen in movies and the History Channel
Marks left by metal, shrapnel 
I felt sick to my stomach, not for the scar but for the fact this man was the one
Sporting the scars.

I told her how I slipped a 20 in his 
Bag while he wasn't looking as my stop
Approached
She had an agitated look, knowing we were low on money

I looked her in the eye and asked
Now what were you telling me about
Injustice