Exclusive peek at new poem

Yesterday while filming at a homeless camp in Abbotsford, I spent some time chatting with Nick Zurkowski (pictured), who has lived outdoors for quite some time.

Nick told me a story about how this past winter he met a man named Tom Mackenzie who was passing through town but had begun to display the early signs of hypothermia.

After Nick provided Tom with some warm clothing and food, they got to talking, and Nick found out Tom was a writer. Tome showed Nick a poem he had written recently called “A Hitcher’s Feelings.” Nick liked it so much he offered to buy it.

“All I had in my pocket was a brass button, twenty-five cents and a marble,” Nick says. “He didn’t want the brass button, and I didn’t care to give up the marble, so I gave him the quarter.”

As the official rights-holder of the poem, Nick is now seeking to bring Tom’s work to a wider audience. He asked if I would publish the poem on my blog, which I happily agreed to do. If you ask me, I think Nick got a steal of a deal. To read the poem, just click on the image to the left.