City Bus Stop

Snakelike and silent
wary of  unbidden recognition,
anonymous segments of a long tail
half protected by a flimsy canopy
of a plastic sky.
Eyelids hooded against the winter
Furtive mourners sidle past
fat centipedes cross streets
obedient to flashing signals.
DON'T TALK OR SMILE
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
Cars spit at each other-
a potpourri of poison.
Garish neon lights
wink like vulgar call girls
promising the unaffordable,
unnecessary.
At affordable prices
handbags clutched more willingly
than children
The bus hisses to a stop
and swallows them whole.