It’s the first day of NaPoWriMo (yet another silly abbreviation of Make Yourself Crazy Month) and I have done it.  I wrote a poem.  29 to go. I will be posting as many poems as I feel comfortable, but I’ll also install a counter on my template to keep track of what I’ve written, including forms.   Below is my late read. write. poem. offering, where I go slightly off prompt.

 Reading Material While Riding the Bus - A Running List

The Purpose Driven Life, by a woman sucking on a lime lollipop. The black and white comics from yesterday’s paper, man hunched over in the front seats. Shiny crumpled edges of someone else’s shopping bag: Thank You For Shopping, folded in on itself, like a deflated balloon, read by everyone. Signs indicating Passengers Are Not Permitted to Stand Forward of the Yellow Line While Bus Is In Motion, me. The red and white faded Stop Requested sign, above the driver, illuminated and extinguished each block, everyone. The faces of every man who boards the bus, scanning for threats or attraction, me. The faces of every woman who boards the bus, skimming for recognition or disapproval, me. The faces of every child, looking for the moment when innocence hardens. The black and white sign, one inch by one inch, Press to Signal, for escape.