poem of the day 06.29.10

the most miserable place in the world

high noon
on the bus
ninety-degree heat
packs of pre-teen kids
last day of school
stinking it up with sweat and hormones
boys talking big bullshit about baseball games
in parks in lousy bensonhurst
using the straphanger poles
to do chin-ups
the girls, barely dressed, slapping each other
their hands full of gadgets
shaking their chests to music
keeping one eye on their reflections
in the window
young asian kids blasting video game noise
into the vacuum of new york city public transit
laughing, all of them, laughing
because they rule the world
the bus driver pulling over
yelling
refusing to move the bus down the sun-soaked avenue
unless he gets some peace and respect
at least he hasn’t been laid off
at least his route is still intact
old women who haven’t died in this heat
panting for seats on the bus
arguing
competing for sympathy over surgeries
and whose cancer is worse
making fans with their wrinkled hands
one guy moving from seat to seat
sweating bullets in the faint air conditioning
laughing like a lunatic
made mad in the heat
when someone says out loud
new york city is the most miserable fucking place
in the world
to be in the summer
and nobody says anything back
because we all know that it’s true.