The Next Installment in the Ongoing Poem Series About the Spring of 2006

March 10, 2006
Yesterday it was raining when I left work

and though I’d brought the small collapsible umbrella
it was so cold that I’d worn my warm green coat instead of a raincoat
so I decided to take the bus
something I haven’t done in ages

And because it was rare and different
it was fun and a treat
I stood there waiting under my little black umbrella
surrounded by all the tall buildings and the falling rain
and listening to some happy and dramatic soundtrack music
and I just felt good
in a way I can hardly explain

And then a little later on the bus I was listening to more music
and reading Nicholson Baker (the absolute master
when it comes observing and recording minutia
especially things like breaking shoelaces
and putting on socks
and writing checks and carrying bags)
and I paused to look out at the rain
and realized I had a tiny smile on my face

I’ve noticed that usually when you look at the people
in the windows of a bus going by they are all frowning
and I thought how it would make a good shot in a movie
to pan along the outside of a bus on a gray rainy afternoon
and see all the closed frowny faces
and then one slightly smiley one looking out
There’s something about cinematic music
that tends to raise my mood but wasn’t only that
it was the way the music combined with the light and the shadow
the surroundings my thoughts and what I was reading

I also just discovered
that one of my fellow editors
drinks black coffee
which seems suitably tough-minded




image source is here