The bus was too full —

From the Bus Stop Collection.

an urban poem

The bus was too full

So, I couldn’t get on

I could not go where I always go

My usual

My consistent

My regular

Not possible

Could not go where I always go

So, I took a walk

To places often passed by

But never seen

Past the asphalt-coated basketball court

Where a million, maybe even ten million

me-against-you you-against-me games have been played

I’m better, so much much better, than you.

Games Heard, noisy, intense but never seen.

Hidden, Encased by towering brick tenements,

So never seen

Heard, but never seen

Even the sunshine never gets in

And every strange wanderer is fiercely kept out.

Fiercely kept out

Fiercely kept out.

The bus was too full

So, I couldn’t get on

I could not go where I always go

My usual

My consistent

My regular

Was no longer possible

Must go another way

Could not go where I always go

Must go another way

So, I took a walk

To places often passed by

But never seen

To places often passed by

But never seen