hurtling by Stephanie Ye (Lavinia)

hurtling by Stephanie Ye

(the 'L', chicago)

i once saw a weeping man standing

at a window. our eyes met, and

for one fierce moment

i knew we shared a deep connection.

then the 'L' train i was on shot by,

a horizontal shape slicing the vertical,

sundering our budding relationship

decisively.

i still think of him sometimes,

especially on the 'L',

though i've never found his window again.

as if a hole opened

in the gleaming fabric of the city

and swallowed up the window

and the man;

then with a shimmer rippled shut, smoothening

itself out

to become another anonymous glass wall.

people look more beautiful up here,

coiled

in each window

like a portrait in a picture frame.

when i see someone looking, i always

look back. i indulge in these

random acts of intimacy,

because in the next moment

i am gone,

hurtling through the city

in the air.

Level: Lower/Upper Sec

Themes: disconnect, estrangement, alienation, urban life, human connection/relationships, intimacy, transience, global citizenship, cosmopolitanism

Stylistic Devices: Consistent use of the lowercase, free verse, extended metaphor