The Runner

City child

You run for the bus

because you know

the arrival times they have listed are never accurate

Catch it when you can

City child

You know after 10pm

you either walk or call an Uber

Unless you’re in college and on a budget

then you just walk

Because MTA does what it feels like after 10pm

and doesn’t take college students with evening classes into consideration

Occasionally a bus will come

either empty

or filled with people you wouldn’t expect to see at the hour

usually rowdy high school students

Maybe you were one of them

City child

They congregate like they own the bus

like they own the route

the night belongs to them

They do not mind you as you try to read for your class

it’s their world

their bus

that you ran to catch

*****

-Fortunate Ekwuruke