Mornings

Saw a man eating a meat pie like a sandwich.

Wondered what he'd make of Assertiveness at Work: A Practical Guide to Handling Awkward Situations.

Heard a man articulate the word "Ar-Chi-Bald" before stepping off the bus.

Thought as he passed he'd laugh at my face, being as it is so undistinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics. (He didn't even look at me.)

Expected Lina the loquacious fifteen dollar hairstylist.

Got Leon the taciturn fifteen dollar barber. (But still enjoyed an excellent haircut.)

Speculated about what a Ukrainian soldier might require hairstyle-wise.

Didn't get far beyond my reflection.

Imagined myself at a deli raising my palm to refuse ten cents change before realising that that was the same palm into which a freshly ground coffee bean had just been poured. (Further imagined that it cost me ten cents to replace it.)

Imagined standing on a street corner waving hello to an old woman I'd never met or seen before. Imagined that her back was to me as she plodded and swayed towards a launderette, dragging behind her a long trail of knotted-together bed sheets.

Mornings.