Subway Strangers

conversation snippets

patter like precipitation

this heat, that rain

what job, which station

desperate souls

and lonely trolls

railing needlessly

as we roll

castaways

among millions

clinging to the pole

all of us awkwardly

spying

for a friendly face

among these crowds

too sad, too lonely

but not too proud

Ten-Dollar Blackjack

Real life happens

at the ten-dollar blackjack tables

where elderly Asian men

school business travelers,

where warrior poets

rest for leisure,

turn aside the free drinks,

and learn the math

of risk and good living.

Wondering where the night has gone,

we count our chips and think of home.

The dealers change over,

the game remains.