An Uncomfortable Ride

The midnight bus—a fragment.
Normal life while the normal sleep.
Tracing abandoned streets, outlines
of civilization on pause.

Every new passenger,
a moment of anxiety.
Nobody certain if it’s okay
to throw a fake smile or ridicule
or even glance at the anonymous
passersby. Eyes remain glued
to the penny on the floor
or foam cushion escaping
from torn, imitation leather.
The passengers shift and strain
like onset epileptics at the driver—
his routined speed.

Except a young woman
sitting two seats from the front.
In her eyes, knowledge
of all that human nature has to offer
and rob of someone.
She sits patient, a monk in meditation
adorned with that subtle Buddha smile.
Never forgetting to thank the driver with a wave
as she exits into the cool night.