The Shine Journal

Justin Hyde

a woman

with gnarled fingers

and wind-burnt face

shuffled towards my table

at the bagel shop.

 

she asked

if i could please

open her bottle of orange juice

because her grip

wasn't what it used to be.

 

i pretended

it was a struggle

and tried not to stare

at her left eye socket

which was 

sewn shut.

 

she thanked me

twisted the cap halfway back

and inched

out the door.

 

i watched her

through the window.

 

she struggled

to get her feet

over the curb.

 

when she finally did

she sat down

on a bench

next to the bus stop.

 

buses

came and went

for over an hour

but she stayed put.

 

i went out and

sat next to her,

asked

if everything was

alright.

 

she pulled a tattered

magazine cutout

of jennifer aniston

from the pocket

of her ratty sweatpants.

 

told me

 

it was a picture of herself

from forty years ago

when she was a cheerleader

at ohio state.

 

how back in those days

they called her

betty heart breaker

and she had her pick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MOTIVATION: Trying to understand the thoughts of other human beings.
BIO:  "I live in Iowa where I work as a  correctional officer." Web page is here: NYQ Poets - Justin Hyde

Photo by Mikado Andru