this old man walked up to me

upon exiting the restroom

at the entrance of a clinic

and asked me if i’d read

the wealth of nations

by adam smith

–

i responded i had not

as he seized the reigns of the conversation

guiding us

on a torrential path

careening

headlong

into the rocks

–

he said that free trade

was the worst sin ever committed

and cursed the chinese

calling them dirty

nasty people

that ate bats

–

he kept at this tangent

obsessively dissecting the dietary habits

of people he’d never met

holding his own

unseemly customs

in the highest regards

–

he seemed to be anchoring

his casual bigotry

upon presumed economic principals

in an attempt to detract

from his biting words

and hateful disposition

towards our neighbors

in the east

–

as another patient entreated upon the premises

he grew more listless

his words quieter

and less frequent

and he backed slowly

towards the automatic door

exiting to the parking lot

–

sometimes

animals

are merely feigning death