Sunday, June 5, 2011

Day 281: Vulnerability

Without my iPod
My commuting bubble breaks
Leaving me exposed

Sometimes technology creates a protective shell with which we are loath to part.

If you take out your headphones, people might try to engage you in conversation or ask you for directions. The horror.

Day 280: The Fever

It is good to share
Except when you're listening
To Justin Bieber

Take a stand against iPod headphone leakage. In related news, I love this story from the Times a few years ago.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Day 279: Planning ahead

Two mothers make lists
Of the things their kids will work
Out in therapy


I'm not a parent, but I already have a mental list going on the off chance that I do have a child one day.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Day 278: Tweezerman

You reach in your nose
Grasp a nose hair and yank with
Obvious gusto


He was really enjoying himself.

Day 277: Smoke and mirrors

A seat opens up
I gleefully slide away
From your hacking cough

Smoker's cough knows no season.

On the subject of smoking, kudos to NYC for banning smoking in public parks. Ku-DON'Ts to Mayor Bloomberg for expecting regular people to enforce it. I was at the Boathouse over the weekend and a surly bikini-clad young woman lit up an obligatory American spirit. I toyed with the idea of reminding her that it's now illegal to smoke in parks, but she looked like she could have kicked my ass.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Day 276: Good fortune?

Gray hairs dangle from
The mole on her aged jaw
And brush her shoulder

Living in close quarters with 8 million people, you see a lot of interesting faces. I could not take my eyes off the large mole on this woman's face. It wasn't so much the mole itself as the prodigious amount of hair growing out of it, lazily twisting all the way to her collarbone. Part of me sees something like this and thinks "you are awesomely unique and I'm glad you celebrate that." The other part wants to offer her tweezers.

I had seen a man with a similarly epic mole years ago, also on the subway. Both the man and the woman were older Asian people. So I did a little research. Did you know that in traditional Chinese culture, facial moles are used in a form of divination? Depending on its placement a mole can be a source of great luck.

I hope that this woman's mole renders her uncommonly lucky.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Reader Submission from Deb in NYC

A haiku about someone at work:

Her heart radiates
Warmth like an old gym sock that
Somebody pooped in

Well. We all know someone like that.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Day 275: You stink

Biting and acrid
The smell of stale cigarettes
Leaks out of your pores


One of the most difficult aspects of mass transit is the inescapable barrage of odors.