August 2008
31 posts
she grabs her friend’s arm to get her attention. the girl visibly jumps.
she plays solitaire on her iPod. he watches, rapt, even awestruck.
a tiny child wails at Dad until he lets him walk over to Mom.
a sad-looking young woman gazes pointedly at her wedding ring.
“you have nice skin,” he says, staring. some compliments are just not OK.
i watch him chase her onto the trolley, giggling. she looks back with love.
twin sisters bounce and chant, “it’s our birthday, make some noise!” laughing loudly.
bleary-eyed, his head lolls on his neck, and he tries to hold his coffee.
after giving her token, she says, “i paid you!” you want a cookie?
my sense of smell has gotten sharp; this dude smells of sweat and velveeta.
a man dressed all in white takes great care not to touch anything by hand.
despite a splotchy skin rash, she works the aisle like it was a runway.
it’s fun to watch one stranger avoid another; see they were once friends.
she wiggles her butt and cranes her neck to look at it in the window.
a woman wakes from a nap, reaches out, steadies a falling stranger.
the lady next to me raises her arm, showing her armpit, three times.
“i want to go to chuck e. cheese,” the girl says. mom’s quiet. she adds, “NOW.”
at the stop, she throws her burning cigarette next to a pile of leaves.
“it’s a man’s world,” a man says, swaying back and forth. all the women glare.
the crowd drones until the train comes above ground, and she screams at her phone.
