The Sigh Of Relief On The City Street
                                                      for J

Commuting from Upstate
two days a week,
then from subway to work,
she walks Manhattan streets.
Always after two blocks
walking, sometimes three,
she says she breathes

the same long sigh of relief
at this exploding fanfare,
flotsam jetsam messy dilemmas
rooting in trashcans swinging brief
cases lying on cardboard adjusting sunglasses
tripping over piss-smell whispering platform
shoes honking hollering looking
out looking away talking out
loud to every
body no
body…..

And her
sigh?

The common space,
she opens
on these unforgiving
pavements for herself
for everybody
because

it’s finally clear—
we’re all lost
together, we’re all
struggling, we’re all
doing our best to learn
the next lessons in the Handbook
of Suffering.