Moments in Space

The homeless are everywhere here.  Corner to corner begging for change.  Most of them appear normal enough with their cups and dogs on leashes, woolen caps and cardboard signs.  But there are others out there too.  You hear them first, this strange loudness of voice - they are angry, shouting their internal dramas  into the chilly air.  They see you but you get the feeling that they think you can't see them.  They keep talking, dirty clothes bound in wrinkles and they move ever forward - ever onward.  They rage war on injustice, protecting themselves from the aliens, the demons  - "the man".  It is pitiful but it is not really what you feel for them - what you feel is an odd fear, and uncertainty.  Can they see through you? Are they "touched"? Because sometimes what they say has an odd ring that sounds like one of your secret thoughts and it makes you shiver.