in the air I breathe, dust stirs
and old men stare
kick the concrete in my way
but don’t cry in public!

sidewalk stale trash smells
creep up from below

children yell and the elderly saunter
space full of lungs and shouts and smoke and thoughts

there is firm and fatal
there is passing and translucent
wafts of fresh bread, intimate eye contact, the jump of your heart
it all passes
and soon too
the city passes
and all that’s left is this limp air
daring you to keep on living