and i’m sitting on an
elevated sky train platform
eating a sandwich
below the people sit on the street
drink and play music
as the trash men
collect trash
the working girls sit around
legs crossed
one heel
bouncing
they sit and wait as the men
pass by, pass by,
and pass by
they sit there showing leg
saying the same phrases
over and over
about a block away
a door man is tipped
while an elevator rises
and falls again
a plane passes overhead
and four people
look up
as the plane moves into the distance
a rat and a dog square off
both suspended in their
battle rituals
men stand on the corners counting
their money, swallowing
their ethics, and sweating
the birds start their song
and i stand up and begin
walking toward my room
i move onto the street
and look ahead
as it all passes away
into the strange space we call
history.
