June 2008
5 posts
Jun 5th
1 note
he wipes the seat with great care, despite not having bathed himself today.
Jun 4th
i strain to listen to him quote Scripture at her inaccurately.
Jun 3rd
i wonder if it isn’t clumsiness to blame, but frotteurism.
Jun 2nd
she giggles as he tries, awkwardly, to lay his head down on her lap.
Jun 1st
May 2008
31 posts
i love the annoyed collective scoff when the car stops dead underground.
May 31st
three teenage girls pass a camera full of prom pictures back and forth.
May 30th
an old man wears a daisy tucked into the band of his fedora.
May 29th
she hands her son - who is in a jaw brace - a stick of gum to chew on.
May 28th
1 note
he sings to himself, songs with choruses of, “that’s how a bitch gets shot!”
May 27th
“i love reruns of seinfeld,” she says. four women screech, “no soup for you!”
May 26th
1 note
now and then i smell fellow riders’ food, and crave fried chicken, or ribs.
May 25th
every boy with a beard makes me think of my ex. this means: many boys.
May 24th
“i don’t know what to say i believe in,” she says. “jewish isn’t right.”
May 23rd
a tourist with a southern drawl asks, “does this thing go any faster?”
May 22nd
“let me off,” she cries, turns, announces, “i’m going… to the HOSPITAL!”
May 21st
“yo,” she says gruffly, and offers the young mother a place to sit down.
May 20th
taking a new line is like visiting a new city. i get lost.
May 19th
the man brings a full picnic aboard, and leaves a whole trash mound behind.
May 18th
there’s no polite way to tell her i see her weave, so i hold my tongue.
May 17th
two women, spaced by forty years, hold a long talk on an aloe plant.
May 16th
no number of signs will teach people to step down to leave the trolley.
May 15th
he changes seats like musical chairs, no seatmate good enough for him.
May 14th
she rushes in front of me to board, then takes her time getting inside.
May 13th
i have terrible etiquette; i wrap my arm around the hand bar.
May 12th
i never knew how to keep talking ‘til i heard them discuss nothing.
May 11th
“i’m getting off soon,” she explains, and holds ground for thirty city blocks.
May 10th
his dirty look is perfection. his space is more valuable than ours.
May 9th
the trolley halts in darkness, and an iPod fills the heavy silence.
May 8th
the train comes above ground. the kid announces, “we’re in the outside now.”
May 7th
a man in army gear talks about class with a woman in sweatpants.
May 6th
on the platform he barks, “i ain’t tryin’ to be late.” well, sir, clearly.
May 5th
a stranger, in one talk, calls me not just “sugar,” but “honey,” and “sweets.”
May 4th
the city year kids are off duty; the car is splashed with red jackets.
May 3rd
i want to calm the people who stress over bumps. we’re in a train car.
May 2nd
she leans to look down the tunnel; she sees light and cries, “thank you jesus!”
May 1st
April 2008
30 posts
i am no stranger to threats on the subway, but singing is different.
Apr 30th
“get your hand off my fucking neck or i’ll break your jaw,” the man hisses.
Apr 29th
her legs curled under her, she retreats into her iPod, gazing off.
Apr 28th
zipped to the nose in her fur vest, she hibernates, and no one wakes her.
Apr 27th
she loudly phones the friend, who can’t pick her up with five minutes’ notice.
Apr 26th
the turnstile won’t take her dollar bills. with each try, she seems more desperate.
Apr 25th
he makes ample use of the fact that their seats face each other, and flirts.
Apr 24th
she can’t get out of her window seat, and coldly says: “this. is. my. STOP.”
Apr 23rd
the woman on the aisle refuses to move. “you’ll just have to wait, dear.”
Apr 22nd
four teen girls travel, same anxieties, laughs, and bulging suitcases.
Apr 21st
mom doesn’t stop her kid from applying monkey stickers to the seats.
Apr 20th
“some artists would be good investments,” she says. “…the ones we can’t afford.”
Apr 19th
the conductor turns back. a small girl wails, “he won’t take my ticket, mom!”
Apr 18th
“sing a song!” he says to the conductor. “nah; ‘less you want barry white.”
Apr 17th