he sat down next to a man on a
bus
the seat was empty as were most on
the bus it was late
since it was a public bus he
didnt ask
he sat
he usually chose to sit beside
the most colourful charactersthe ones who thought perhaps that by their dress
or behaviour theyd keep an entire bench to themselves
he liked to rain on singular
parades
as he walked up on the man
weaving between passengers who preferred to stand he tried to make eye
contact
the mans eyes started up briefly then
fell
the
man blinked
to blink to be submissive not that it mattered to him
he sat
Excuse me. I’m sitting here.
Yes An Im sitting beside you
I’M SITTING HERE. asif talking
louder would removeexcise him
You are . . an youre welcome to half the
bench No more Keep to your half its a public bus
Move. I’M sitting here.
You are an now Im sitting beside
you
You should move.
he took a paperback from his
jacket pocket ignoring his comment I like
to read on the bus Its soothing
You better move.
he still hadnt
looked at him he reclinedleaned against
the window at his right refusing to move
his legs sitting on his hip bent knees his shoeshis soles nearly on his hip
Me I like to read undisturbed But I dont worry about my clothes get messed
upwhich apparently appeals to you as well But I do careone might say I care
enthusiastically I have unbridled
enthusiasm . a happy assessment . . a passion . for my enthusiasm
You enthusiastic
Are you enthusiastic
the man titled his headsmirked casually still he hadnt made eye contact ignored him said nothing to his enthusiasm query
he didnt know anyone who liked to
be ignored so he bellied up to the bar sitting
down heartily beside his ignorant slovenly buddy enthusiasm sat happily on the stool next to him he always saved a stool at the bar for his enthusiasm
he
sighed he acted disheartenedhe acted asif he was standing
to leave Slovenly
might think to leave he stood just enough for
leverage then lunged-clasped the man by the back of his knee nearest the
seatback and yanked him bodily so that his face smeared down the bus window giving
it a big wet kiss
he may have been too enthusiastic the torque spun Slovenlyspun him so that his
French kiss came off the glass and ended with him on his knees in the aisle his
forehead on the seatback
he hunched over him and said in a
fierce whisper Thank you kindly Hospitable of you to share the bench
he said something in reply but it
was lost in the vinyl seatback
Slovenly made quite the picture likely hed hang it in his minds eye a
bit for a while he needed distraction in the worst way Slovenly briefly usurped the image he was trying
to shake
the image of his daughter ill inclined
in a hospital bed in her sunroom behind
her were the spines of her collected books on a walled built-in bookcase
she had been sleepingwhen she
could upright for better than six months
she was burned into his eyes
Slovenly pushed himself up off
his knees off the bench and stood
You motherfucker! he stood over him threateningly
he raised his eyes to Slovenlys he didnt care for what he saw
YOU . . then Slovenly stoppedcut
himself short maybe he didnt like what he
saw either -- his crippling – reflecting in the pools of what were surely deep black
eyes
he pushed past him roughly and sprawled in a bench several seats ahead
he recognised he provoked him
he also recognised had violence
been incurred win or lose it would not soothe his anger or his sorrow
he recognised the hole in himself
a hole never to be filled
he had other holes
you live you do
he just had no idea it would be as
deep as it is
the deepest blackest hole in his life
1910, Saturday,
1 2. 20
1202, Monday,
20 7. 20
