I see the day in criss-crossed lines,
plane paths and train tracks,
intersections, patterns in the carpet,
smiles of strangers, laughter, conversation
surfacing, submerging in the roar
of subway cars, their bright rectangles
gliding in and out of darkness

Absences, reunions,
moving in a blur across my mind,
enhanced by music from my headphones,
the clack clack of my rolling suitcase
over the sidewalk,
the dig of my backpack strap at my shoulder

No lines of deep thought here,
just the echo of clatter
and the city’s traffic
mellowed and now lulling
through the open windows.

©Wendy Mulhern
May 29, 2015