grand central, the shuttletrain

is pulling in while a korean man stands

against a pillar feet from me

 

he curves slowly downward

     like a leaf, headfirst

          into the side of the train and lies

          on the ground with his forehead

          in

and                                                          out

     of the doorways for a good 3 seconds,

before anybody can move to help him.

 

he twitches now, his whole body

misfiring, his eyes like slot machines.  it takes

600 or more commuters to get a cop to him

and i watch

from a small distance behind as he is stood up

and told to sit down, his electric brain

as bewildered as his neck

 

his hand goes

to his hairline and comes back red,

and i take my cue to find a seat

while you

 

on the other side of the world

 

are bashing sharks with your surfboard

are disappearing in caves

are drinking sand in the desert

are communing with bats

are sleeping with spiders the size of children

     in your fragile American hair.

 

~Eric Raanan Fischman

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