Accidental Loss

He was a German tourist
Riding the train from Malaysia
Up to Bangkok, Thailand
When his nightmare began.
It started simple enough.
He had to use the toilet.
In the restroom
He observed a bottomless chute
Through which the gravel
Of the railroad bed
Could be seen speeding by.
That was the toilet.
It could have been
A sudden lurch of the train,
Or a moment of
Uncoordinated urgency,
But just as he was
Pulling his jeans down,
His wallet with ever bit
Of money he had
Took a flying leap And fell
To the roadbed below.
He disembarked
At the next town
Determined to walk back
Along the tracks
In the hopes of
Finding his wallet.
I ran across him
As he was coming back
Having spent the day
Searching in vain.
He stood there
Totally exhausted,
Forlorn, and frustrated,
Muttering disparaging names
To himself.
Even though
I don’t speak German,
I got the gist
Of what he was saying.
All I could do was buy him
A drink and a dinner
And send him on his way
Aboard the next train
Headed to Bangkok.
I rather imagine
The poor guy
Will always remember
That incident
As one of the low points
Of his life,
No matter how hard
He tries to forget.