Random snippets of
strangers' conversations.
The clicking and rolling of skateboards behind my back.
Traffic rumbling by.
6:23 p.m.
I sit on the steps in Union Sq. watching the world move around me. Jotting down fleeting thoughts. Stubbing out my my cigarettes, tamping down on every last glowing ember, watching the sparks die.
Fire engine sirens.
Excuse me, got a light?
Busses squealing to a halt.
6:34 p.m.
The sky is overcast, I can't see any stars. I miss the stars. I'm hungry, find a crumpled pack of peanut M&M's in my bag. Light up again, playing with the smoke. Watching it curl and spiral away, dissipating before I can get something to hold on to.
The smoking wall and lit numbers changing.
Couples wrapped in each other.
Virgin Megastore glaring in persistent neon.
6:47 p.m.
That's the last of my smokes, and my bum is numb. The flow of world around me varies, people pulsing from the subway at periodic intervals. Cap my pen, gather my shit,
stand and walk away.