poem of the day 12.10.10

i should’ve known better

early december cold
stillwell avenue bus stop
i’m too blind
to see down 86th street
put in another
eight hours
i’ll never get back
i ask her if the b4 bus
has gone by yet
she says
well, that’s the one
i’m waiting for
then proceeds to give
me the history
of the neighborhood
the roy rogers on the corner
the drug store
the five and dime
and how they should’ve
put a coffee shop here
instead of petco
she says
you know
for cold nights like this
and she keeps going like that
the good old day
the bad new ones
the bakery long since closed
there is no b4 in sight
just the two of us
so i listen to her
instead of neil young
smile like a dumb bastard
because it’s all right
it’s my fault
i should’ve known better
than to approach humanity
on a cold night
in early december
when there’s
no one else around
for it to talk to
but me
and the unforgiving wind.