tosa

People walk, all over
downtown –on an overcast
seventy degree day.
Cars weave between
p e d e s t r i a n s
faking a jog
as they jaywalk.

Blonde girls in short skirts,
tan boys in tight tanks,
not a mask anywhere in sight.
Two Black teens holding
skateboards, stopped, patiently
waiting for the crosswalk
to countdown.

But a teenage boy,
on a scooter half his size,
doesn’t have their patience.
He crosses without waiting
or even chancing a look.
His knees perched higher
than his half-sized handlebars.

Gardeners on their knees
pull weeds from their flowers,
and an old chevy van's
broken down by the curb.
A mom walks her dog
and dad talks on speaker;
regular gas, $4.29 a gallon.

Just one year ago,
these roads were quiet;
the sidewalks unwalked; just a side.
But us humans are resilient,
and stubborn hell.
We got used to mass shootings
why not a pandemic (or two) too?

07.22.2022 / menomonee river