Thursday, July 27, 2006

Basking in the New York sun…

Basking in the New York sun
(Without my sunscreen)
I walk the streets of the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn
(With torn maps in my hand)
Dip myself in a flood of angry faces
Breathe their pasts, their scents, their souls…
Searching for something
Something you’ll never know…

I feed myself with McDonald’s dollar meals
(Six pieces of mozzarella cheese or chicken nuggets)
After having the last of Maggie’s bon bons
And Jane’s chips and chocolate rolls
After melting M&M peanut butter in my mouth
After chewing all my Juicy Fruit gums
On the bus, on the subway train…

I pass the time dozing or staring
At the same flood of angry faces
On the bus, on the subway train…
I pass the time lip-synching the operators as they say
“This is a Bronx-bound train
The next stop is…
Stay clear of the closing door, please.”

I pass the time dozing, staring, lip-synching…
After reading all the free papers and magazines
(And suffering a headache)
After writing these lines in my notebook
(And being stared at with much curiosity).

With nothing left to read about
Nothing left to write about
I jump off the F train
Down on Jamaica Avenue
Where the loud speaker proudly says “This is the last stop
Thank you for riding MTA New York!”
Where my shadow gently whispers “This is your last stop
Thank you for being jobless in New York!”

Jamison062906

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