FEBRUARY GIFT WRAPPED

two months already

beyond Yule uptide

the middle class
now warmly packaged
given away to
skating sidewalks

boisterous winds
snow forecast

to stand sardined
on 7AM buses
while straining to see
how close they are
to their stops
out fogged windows
in need of a revealing rub

to drink too much coffee
eat microwave boxed lunches
joke amid stressed deadlines
of the four day work week
and how they were fooled

into believing computers
would make life easier

then head for home

trudging in bunches
onto O-train
a different mode
in hope of avoiding
morning discomforts
days getting longer
the only bonus

still light at 5PM

wearily they sit
facing one another
glance at the persons
across the aisle
analyze their uniqueness
taking some comfort
in their sameness

then peering out windows
no longer fogged
to too many gray buildings
and a murder of crows
the only entertainment
seeming to take pleasure

in the elements
as twenty or more
careen to the left
then to the right
soar to swoop again

while the displaced souls
watching wait

for the train’s bell
to sound its departure
to the suburbs
and with eyes closed
dream of Tulips
green grass
vacations

© 2003 Chris Sorrenti