moses

moses belman lived in the apartment beneath my brother in Rapid City. moses was an old man with diabetes and a predilection for alcohol. when he was sober he was kind and an affable gardener. when he was drunk, the others took advantage. moses would show up at the door, having taken a beating, asking for help. so we'd call the cops and oddly enough, his name was already on file. moses was well known on that level.
i stood in for moses when i could as did my brother. but neither he nor i could stop moses from pointing a toy pistol at the RC cops. they shot moses on july 17 in the alley behind the house. caught him in the leg first but the rookie planted a shock round in his chest. moses died.
the landlord asked us to go into his basement apartment because he thought we were friends of his and he was right. but moses didn't leave a trace. just pots and pans and magazines and other shit he'd pulled from dumpsters over time.
moses was a recycler. the first time he asked me to haul him and his aluminum to scrap dealers, i did. those old beer cans stank to high hell but when moses got paid, he gave me ten bucks. i expected nothing and tried to refuse so he hid it under my cigarettes. i found it later.

RIP Moses Belman, you were alright by me.