Penn Station. New York City, NY. Subway Poet Laureate. May 2016
Time out, if life is a game, who's playing?
If we're a race, who's winning?
I met this hard-working man recently on the A train. I was on my way to catch the 93 Amtrak train to DC, where I'd hop on a Metro train to go watch my niece, Hannah, play a softball game for the University of Maryland. (Go Terps!) Blue, he was walking through my subway car, hawking copies of his book of prose and poems. I had to admire the guy for that alone. Regretfully, I'm usually not much of a softie when it comes to the various entrepreneurs and lost souls trying to scrape up a buck on the subway and on the streets of Manhattan. But now that I'm a publisher trying sell my own books, how could I not have a soft spot in my heart for this guy? He even got me feeling a little guilty for never having tried to sell books on the train myself. At what point does it come to that? That's way out of my comfort zone. But a man's gotta make a buck and I respect the hell out of Blue for trying to make his bucks by selling his books on the subway. But I was paranoid about missing my Amtrak connection, so I barely had time to talk to Blue. Luckily, I had just enough time to buy his book. (Unlike the rest of my fellow passengers.) But during my ride down to DC, I got to know Blue real well by reading several entries from Corner Stores In the Middle of the Block and I really liked much of what I read. So here's hoping I cross paths with Blue again. And not just because my favorite color has always been blue.
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Everyone listen up... Every mind is a world and only you can make you happy, just don't bother me with it!
That's why I stopped giving my money to bums!
I got tired of them throwing my pennies in the street
Then they act like they don't want to eat the food that I try to give 'em
Don't you know this one bum told me he's a vegetarian
He went on to say that life had thrown him a curve ball
I think he was trying to use me to get a hit