Backtracking

I found your words
They're laying in the mud on the side of the road
Sad and discarded
I'm sorry they got lost there, or you dropped them, or maybe they expired and were thrown out.
I would have pulled them out and given them back,
but it was raining
and I was very, very cold.

I found your thoughts
in the alley that people cut through
to bypass the one-way streets
They're potholed and full of parked cars
You lost your thoughts there
I found them but I was rushing,
splashing in the puddles.

A man hit me with good intentions
as I sneezed past him on the street
soaked through to my damp, fleshy skin
Bless you he said
I took as much as I could and
am happy to share them with you
As long as you stop being
so damn careless.