The morning sun beams
a slanted rectangle of light
on our cream-colored wall.  
It looks like an entryway.

The pre-teen on the F train
wears black polka dot tights.  
The crossing and uncrossing of her legs
orchestrate the words from her mouth.
She frees a kiss on her friend’s cheek          
before she scoots off the orange seat—        
her backpack barely clearing the closing doors.

The lady in a business suit
coos “good girl” to her tiny dog
as a taxi buzzes past
the corner of 16th and 5th—
her hand, covered
in a blue NYT plastic bag, at the ready
for her dog’s concrete-scratching
ritual to end.  

The square is still calm—
only the peal of metal poles        
as they puzzle together.
A man with a fluorescent orange vest,
whistles into the straggling crowd
directing the wheatgrass van into its spot.

A Goldilocks fillet of flounder—
not too big, not too small—
perches on the scale
just as the customer, wearing her
everyday pearls beckons: pack it in
a little ice.  A fishmonger
scoops some into the open bag.

A gaggle of preschoolers press
toward the front of the case of fish,
hoping to see something
they have never seen before.  
Eww!  they chime—eyes greedy
for a glimpse of guts.

A black-olive ring falls
from the corner of its pita
onto the gravel, an eager squirrel
scuttles close—ready to retrieve.

A rush of people maneuver
stand to stand—piling into bags
the ingredients for tonight’s dinner.
A loose onion
rolls under a tower of collard greens. 

A honey-headed woman sits
with her legs static
on her boyfriend’s lap.  
They take up more room than two people.
Heavy bass leaks from
his earphones.  She twists closer
as a lady thumps onto the seat
on her opposite side.

I arrive back home
to three hungry cats and the smell of garlic.
I kick off my boots, dump my backpack
on a chair, and undress, before collapsing
into a tub full of steaming water.

My sweetheart dishes out white rice.  
She sneaks a pink shrimp into her pink lips
before sliding the rest on top.  
Our tiger-striped cat, lounging
on the kitchen table jumps off
just in time for the plates to land.