jupitersterrain four

the people at the sandwich shop
give me left over bread crusts
that i feed to the birds on the bridge in town.
something that i enjoy doing on my way down.

today there was a man begging nearby
and he started shouting at me
' what are you feeding them for, they're vermin ... '
i turned round to see who it was
and he started walking towards me
' you should feed the homeless not the birds ... '
i carried on with what i was doing
trying not to show that i was frightened

i don't think he is homeless
or he would have been moved on from here
as i have seen him harassing a busker also.
and I'm not likely to offer someone a bag of stale bread crusts !

at the same time i don't know if can report this
the police might want to know why i have spare bread
and where it comes from
and why i am throwing it in the river for the seagulls ...