The Smell Of Thursday Afternoons

on track three

wet train tracks, slick from the morning’s rain brick, a little mud from the dirt that accumulated over every flat surface in the city this past week yellow, from the shaggy dandelions in the sidewalk cracks and the yellow line stale wind and sleepiness as the train rolls in.

soggy cardboard, disintegrating paper coffee cup from lunch, faint spices still drifting from what, cold now, is left in the tupperware. baby powder, blisters (shoes discarded) paper, ink, whiteboard cleaner.

wrinkles (the blue collared shirt was crisp at nine), the last three munchkins from the box Tina brought in, new carpet and fluorescent lights. the door slams.

dollar coins from the station vending machine diet pepsi cola track three acrylic fingernails, synchronized clicking, millennial women scrolling through recipe blogs. general fatigue and smoke.

deadlines wine Costco rotisserie chicken and British murder mysteries, rainbow throw blanket (home and the sound of wrapping paper ripping), purring and cat fur. the chicken bones rattle in the container they’re sold in. sleepiness and fading lipstick and darkness at 6p.m. in October.

1 broken earbud, dusty stucco ceiling sheets weren’t washed last week, raw cookie dough, smooth jazz, blue light, cold water, and a singular weed growing in the pot with the aloe.

Notes

An impression of Thursday, from varying locations. Depending on the week and the time of year I might spend Thursdays on the train, in the office, or in a classroom, but wherever I am a Thursday is fundamentally the same.

It’s a very poorly defined day, best understood in terms of Wednesday and Friday — it’s a weekday in suspended animation, a day spent in waiting mode.

Note that I mention October, a month of waiting mode in my opinion. This is the first installment of three part poem themed around October. Please stay tuned if you are interested in reading more!

Thanks for reading!

If you’re interested in reading more of my poetry, check out my pieces nanotalk and you have a soul.

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