A baby cried
Tucked under a mother's bouncing arm
Two old women talked
Their coin purses pinched between gloved fingers
A boy graffitied his name on the window
A girl stuck her gum under the armrest
Clearly tired with the flavor
Most everyone sat in the lime green seats
Swaying as the subway hurled down the tunnels
They watched their screens
Swiping past the photos they took
And those they wish they took
Eyes absorbing the images
Like a child sucking down a milkshake
Brainfreeze
But they were immune to such pain
The same thing that ruined their life
Was the thing they coped with
Never wanting to let go of the screen in their hand
Till it molded to their fingers
Their necks bent
Earbuds snug in their ears
Fading into the wallpaper
Their voice not their own
But one of those on the screen
I stood swaying in the aisle
Hand firmly gripping the pole
It smelled strongly of sweat and pennies
I lulled back and forth in rythmn with the train
The light flashing as we sped along
A girl sat in front of me
She had untamed hair tucked behind her ears
Her face was red and freckled from the sun
The flowered dress she wore billowed around her
A puddle of colors
She lay out feathers of exotic birds before her
Along with ocean smoothed glass
And river shaped rocks
A necklace of shells strung round her neck
She piled up coins from around the world
And pieces of cloth
So bright I could still see them shine when the cabin darkened
She looked up at me
Her sandy hair a halo on her shoulders
Her look fell onto the people in the chairs
Living a life that was no longer theirs
Her gaze once again settled on mine
She knew
I knew
Pointing to my hand
The girl reached in her pocket
And with fingers of warmth
She curled my hand around her small treasure
The bus fell dark
And when it flashed back to light
The girl was gone
I looked down at my hand
Still warm from her touch
A single daisy rested in my palm
Brighter than any phone screen
I let it sit behind my ear
The train kept speeding through the tunnels
Two women talked
A baby cried
Tucked under a mother's bouncing arm
Two old women talked
Their coin purses pinched between gloved fingers
A boy graffitied his name on the window
A girl stuck her gum under the armrest
Clearly tired with the flavor
Most everyone sat in the lime green seats
Swaying as the subway hurled down the tunnels
They watched their screens
Swiping past the photos they took
And those they wish they took
Eyes absorbing the images
Like a child sucking down a milkshake
Brainfreeze
But they were immune to such pain
The same thing that ruined their life
Was the thing they coped with
Never wanting to let go of the screen in their hand
Till it molded to their fingers
Their necks bent
Earbuds snug in their ears
Fading into the wallpaper
Their voice not their own
But one of those on the screen
I stood swaying in the aisle
Hand firmly gripping the pole
It smelled strongly of sweat and pennies
I lulled back and forth in rythmn with the train
The light flashing as we sped along
A girl sat in front of me
She had untamed hair tucked behind her ears
Her face was red and freckled from the sun
The flowered dress she wore billowed around her
A puddle of colors
She lay out feathers of exotic birds before her
Along with ocean smoothed glass
And river shaped rocks
A necklace of shells strung round her neck
She piled up coins from around the world
And pieces of cloth
So bright I could still see them shine when the cabin darkened
She looked up at me
Her sandy hair a halo on her shoulders
Her look fell onto the people in the chairs
Living a life that was no longer theirs
Her gaze once again settled on mine
She knew
I knew
Pointing to my hand
The girl reached in her pocket
And with fingers of warmth
She curled my hand around her small treasure
The bus fell dark
And when it flashed back to light
The girl was gone
I looked down at my hand
Still warm from her touch
A single daisy rested in my palm
Brighter than any phone screen
I let it sit behind my ear
The train kept speeding through the tunnels
Two women talked
A baby cried
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