In a Blink

“Phfft! Phfft! Phfft! Phfft! Taxi! Taxi!”

An outstretched arm suspended. At ninety degrees. Upside down pendulum. Timing out the passing train. Blue cruisers, mad hatters, radio blasters, nail biters, and the top shelf. Back and Forth. Back and Forth. Shouts:

“Phfft! Phfft! Phfft! Taxi! Phfft!”

Rushing past. Blurring. Like an alarm when the terror strikes, low beneath the mix. These flashers. Gassers. Kicking up the waste. Plastics in flight. Tic toc tic tic tic. Tic toc tic tic tic.

A HONKing alert. Breaking through the blur. Lay on it hard fella. Stop for a second. “Stop for a second!” One yellow fish tugging on a line, jumps, blots out the sky, snap! Rips flesh. Tide moves on. Broken line.

Outstretched arm. Disembodied. Stretch-ing-out-ward. Back. Fingering the middle of the fray. The visible disembodied now-single-bodied arm floats. Above. The fray.

No taxi. Vultures on by. “Vultures!” Wingless. Walk. Walk. Walk. Where’s the bus?

“How long you been here?” No response. It’s close enough. Walk on. Walk on. Walk.

“Can’t get a bus going north. You get a bus going north? Naw, man. Can’t get a bus going north. How far north you go to get a bus going north? North man. North. North.”

Tall man. French words. Bald. Monk’s hair on the sides. Glasses of color. Smiles into the sun. Pockets deep. Hands uncovered. Cold outside. Smiling into the sun?

“Take a taxi? Take a taxi?” Eyes affixed on the flame in the sky.

On the bus. Eyes out the window. Ducking low. Spots the sun. Bounding between buildings. Into the smile. Ray flare. Blink.

An alleyway. Blink.

A gas station. Blink.

A low roof. Blink.

An intersection. Blink. Squint.

Hold.

Smiles into the sun. Colored Glasses. Brown edged little bunkers. Full of flare. Spotting the sun. What’s to see? What’s to see? With that smile into the sun.

Green on Go! Darkness. Blink between the buildings. All the way home. Moving. Home. Blink.

Blink.

~contributer