Butterfly
14th Street & Union Square.
Harmless, but everyone on this train seems afraid of it.
I guess city people don’t encounter this very often.
A middle-aged woman near the door tries to feign toughness,
but she is uncomfortable.
8th Street.
Flutter, flutter.
Three young women smile until it reaches them.
Now they are surprised, though not horrified.
They do not know what to do, so they move.
Prince Street.
The monarch of the train finds a perch on the light.
The girls smile, and the woman continues to act unfazed.
I smile.
Canal Street.
Like a true commuter as the train approaches its stop,
it rises, asking only to get to the door before its stop.
It lands on me. This is where I get off, too.
The girls smile at me. One points and says,
“It’s on your shoulder.” I smile. I made a new friend.