Bus Impressions

by Susan Goldfield

In Transit: Added on November 21, 2002

my seatmates:
maybe twenty girl buried in her 400+ page text
maybe sixteen shifty-eyed sugar ray wannabe
maybe forty overweight dowdy burn victim
all three posed to avoid interaction
their closed body language a deafening shout of isolation
in our shared light rail universe
proximate but not intimate
i watch them stare out windows not turn pages suck hungrily at a coke contemplate shoelaces
three stops, four
we reach the zoo without risking eye contact.

Enter young mom, young dad, stroller,
small squall of noise emitted from
a very tiny new passenger
And four sets of eyes look up from
window, book, shoelaces, coke
Lifted from the separate into a single
space holding Connor. His name is Connor!
and he's just 8 weeks old, and his grandmother spoils him
(he's the first you know)
Headed home from his first visit with the tigers.

Suddenly Sugar Ray wannabe turns from
rebel snot into someone's brother with
A charming, shy smile
Chuckling to himself over every gurgle and coo.
Dowdy victim becomes the
Much loved mother of a son
That grew up too fast
(after one year, it just flies away from you)
Who sweetly wishes she'd taken more pictures.
Intellectual book worm
Makes faces and peek-a-boos unabashedly
Until Connor smiles.
And I realize
I like these people sitting next to me
That I labeled so unfairly.

Perspective changes in the face of
Small miracles, perfect vulnerability.

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What were your first impressions?