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people-watching in plague times, by Julia Ortiz

and by the shopping cart returns,

treading the lines of where cars

should be is a monochrome man

gazing feetward, hellward.

he is thinking hard or not at all.

grease shines from under his half-inch

of stubble, but nothing shines in his eyes

– perhaps there are no eyes, just brows

furrowing deeper and deeper, digging

holes of worry, digging graves out of

dreams, hopes, and promises made.

sold and double-crossed, he spits.

fingers fidget. grabbing for what?

perhaps the empire he had once lived for.

perhaps the thought of his grandchildren.

perhaps the impulse to scrub his palms

raw, red, never clean ever clean not

clean enough. he looks about himself.

he walks away, no shadow, but a spattering

of rain.

 

Julia Maria Ortiz is a writer and recent graduate of Smith College. Her work has appeared in Firefly, Rose Quartz and Honey & Lime. She loves fairy tales, warm cocoa, and is newly obsessed with Animal Crossing.

Julia is a Regular Contributor at Teen Belle Magazine.

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