Riding the public train
A glimpse into the lives of anonymous others
Unspoken pardon for our own shortcomings
A stylishly-dressed young woman stands before me
She pulls her wedding ring from her designer bag
And turns it anxiously, self-consciously
Before putting it back on
I notice she is flushed,
Glowing even
Her hair disheveled
In very un-Japanese fashion
She seems unaware of this
Her black-and-white shirt droops
Revealing blue bra strap
Proclaiming in block letters
Nothing easy is worth doing
Insouciance for anonymity
Because it is defended by others
Out of indifference
But also out of the respect
Born of self-interest
Our exchanged and averted glances bespeak
Understanding and forgiveness
My station is next
I offer her my seat
Before she leaves my life forever
As quickly as she entered it
No comments:
Post a Comment