across from the federal building
the bus stop bench was
chilled and wet with dewv
so i took a newspaper
from the trey
placed it down
sat on that.
the old man arrived
on schedule
in his fedora
and leather jacket.
he lit a cigarette,
nodded politely at me,
before looking down at
a piece of paper.
the smoke stung my nose
like bad memories.
we waited impatiently.
for too long.
the bus to the west side
is always full on a weekday
at 11:38 a.m.
i, and the old man
and the others which had come
to join in our absurd activity
piled into an already cramped situation.
found places to stand.
i was in the aisle –
arms stretched out,
holding the cold,
greasy, germ infested bars,
like some crucified junkie.
lucky, i didn’t have far
to go for my fix.
-charlie shuck
22
Nihilist Karma
July/ 2014
Nihilist Karma
July/ 2014
23