A life's witness

A life’s witness is scribbled, hummed, whispered, unfiltered, and very rare these days.

Mind your feet, please

Mind your feet, please,

she said as she moved

the vacuum toward his

sneakers. The airport

was almost deserted

and under-his-feet

was the last spot

she needed to clean

before she left for the day.

She had vacuumed around him

all night as he slept there,

under the fluorescents

leaning back in the blue seat

at the end of the row

with his cap pulled

over his eyes, peaceful.

nonverbals

i see you there across the way

and there's something about the way you say

not that i hear as i can only see

but your hands are moving wildly in ecstasy

as you speak some wonderfully intense story

of that dramatic moment within your day

the one your voice can only partly relay

so from a distance let me convey

i really love what your nonverbals say

January 8, 2004, NYC