"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Friday, February 4, 2022

The Number Two Bus

  

The downtown line

is the Number Two bus.

It lurches forward

and bodies sway with the clutch

of the Number Two bus.

 

Home to the homeless

    (bags of belongings between their feet)

they’re out of the rain for the length of the route.

Seattle is tolerant of her homeless.

They don’t have to pay to ride the Number Two Bus.

 

A homeless man boards with a jug of eggnog

and he holds it in his lap like a baby.

Everyone looks at his gallon of eggnog.

What a sensible homeless man

with a sensible breakfast he grips with his thumb.

 

Commuters and senior citizens,

tourists and homeless all share the bus,

the dependable, rollicking Number Two bus.

 

You dropped your smile, a hard-to-place cad

    (doesn’t fit in a niche)

says to the girl who boards with a backpack.

He smirks as she looks down and around.

 

Unflappably cool, she buries her face in a book

but he got her to look,

and the homeless, the commuters, and the tourists

all laugh as the driver lets out the clutch

of the Number Two bus.



Written on our pre-covid trip to Seattle, which now seems like the good 'ol days, brought out of hiding by dVerse's prompt to write about a smile, (a smirk, a laugh?) maybe my ride on the Number Two Bus fits into the niche. Check out all the talent at dVerse when you have an extra minute!


TGIF!!!

21 comments:

indybev said...

i'm reminded of an old TV show that started with the lines "There are a million stories in the naked city", and I think the same must be true of the #2 bus! Great read, Yvonne!

Anthony Duce said...

Enjoyed.
I’ve probably been on the number two bus back in the good old days, a couple of years ago with smiling granddaughters.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Bev,
thanks! OMG there are so many stories that could come out of that bus and the vast assortment of people that rode it.

Tony
Smiling granddaughters? I like that. Doesn't seem like many smiles out there anymore.

Bodhirose said...

This reminded me of catching the bus at the end of street at times with my mother when I was a little girl. It was an adventure to go on the bus but I didn't pay much attention to the other people along for the ride. Nice that the homeless ride free.

phillip woodruff (jalopy dreams) said...

i really enjoyed this poem. i live in the city, mostly, and i always enjoy riding buses and trains, or just walking, great way to observe and people watch. your writing has a "beat" feel to it that i like... so i will follow (you're going to be famous after all =)

Sanaa Rizvi said...

This is gorgeously rendered! I so enjoyed the little vignettes you painted with your words. There is so much around us to observe and reflect on. 💝💝

Dana Dampier said...

The couple of times that I road a city bus, I really loved seeing the different people riding with me and imagining their stories! Love it!

Sunra Rainz said...

This is fantastic, Yvonne. I love this glimpse into Seattle life, how it looks after its homeless, the social commentary of interaction on the No. 2 bus. It made me smile the whole way through :-)

Sunra

Dwight L. Roth said...

What an interesting story and poem. I could picture the scenes as I read. Well done.

Dwight L. Roth said...

What an interesting story and poem. I could picture the scenes in my mind. Well done.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Dwight,
Thank you! Thank you!

Sunra,
I was impressed by much of Seattle culture and nightlife and, yes, particularly on the good 'ol bus.

Dana,
Thanks!

Sanaa,
Thanks. I certainly was captivated by the people on the bus, all the interplay, stated and otherwise.

Phillip,
Thank you so much!!! I'd love to have a new "follower".

Bodhiroise,
I thought so too. Thanks.

ms_lili said...

Yvonne, I felt like I was riding on that bus with you. What a swell line:
"bodies sway with the clutch
of the Number Two bus."

I think all buses should be gratis, paid by taxpayers.

ms_lili said...

p.s. ms_lili = JadeLi/Lisa @ tao-talk

Gillena Cox said...

Enjoyed your tale of the number two bus.

Thanks for dropping by my blog

Much love...

paeansunplugged said...

Your verse had a lovely rhythm to it like a moving bus! Public places and public transport are great for people watching. Lovely verse.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Ms Lili,
I agree, absolutely.Thank you.

Gillena,
Thanks and you're welcome!

Paean,
Thank you. I appreciate that.


Sherry Blue Sky said...

This makes me happy, that the homeless ride for free in Seattle. We have many homeless in B.C., as rents are through the roof and even people who never dreamed they would ever be homeless are finding themselves in crisis with no where to live. Speculators have driven prices up, and even with unaffordable rents, there are hundreds lining up for the scant vacancies. It is horrible. I REALLY enjoyed this poem, could see the man tenderly holding his egg nog, the hirl with her nose in a book.........awesome.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Hi Sherry,
Thank you so much for sharing the news from B.C. Seattle was a bastion of inclusive civility. Nobody judged or complained. It was eye opening.

Linda Lee Lyberg said...

I remember riding the city bus as a child to go visit my grandmother. The people were always so interesting. Well done!

Callsign Santa said...

As a news editor might say, what a great angle, original, witty, unique, poetic, clever....really enjoyed this, who couldn't? Brilliantly done!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Ain,
Hi! And thanks, what a great compliment. I want to save it for when I'm feeling low.

Linda,
Thanks. Living where I do there aren't many opportunities to ride a bus and I loved it.