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Morning Constitutional

by Chris Sorrenti


the world is full of unexplained characters
human oddities that may never be solved
made all the more surreal
an hour before that first coffee
waiting for an O-Train to get into work

a clean-cut man in his mid-twenties
unable to stand in one place
looks at me strangely
I at him the same way
both feeling the urge to say something anything
while at the same time
an instinctive voice whispers to hold back

he pulls out a cell phone
while continuing his dance
presses on the keypad seven times
stops for a moment
stares down the tracks
“hi it’s me, can you ask mom to flush my toilet, thanks”
the encounter of jig and one-sided conversation
repeated without variance in the days ahead

at some point along the way
I break the ice by mentioning the weather
he responds in the positive
though the sky is threatening cats and dogs
the tension finally lifted
a few more meetings
till the clean-cut man in his mid-twenties
doesn’t show up any more

never did find out
why he couldn’t flush his own toilet

© 2004

670 hits as of January 2024

10/04/2018

Author's Note: A true story.

Posted on 10/04/2018
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Brian Francis on 10/06/18 at 01:14 PM

I love it when the world gives me fertile loam. You capture the image wonderfully as he paces all turned inward. Great write --bf

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