We’re a tolerant
lot, especially those working stiffs on New York City subway platforms
Right stuff of draft
card soldiers in a tropical war
Recruits steel
themselves
Stiff upper lip,
not a whimper in the crowd
Glass doesn’t
break but shatters
Humans at work revealing weakness
The first step
toward
An ever-widening
gulf of hope-hammered unemployed
Nary a crack in
the armor
Long accustomed to being invisible to others, if not themselves.
So the hot will
keep coming
Underground humans
inured
Active-passive, even
joys withheld
Aboveground humans
oblivious for reasons better left for discussion at another time.
Hot enough for
you?
Brother, you got
no idea.
Next: Running for
Your Life: Reel Back Some
