John Levy
Waiting for the Bus in Mid-September
About 6 a.m., on Broadway
in Tucson, dawn was
15 minutes ago and the sky
still deep with it. Across the six
lanes of black about 70 pigeons
suddenly rise off the gas station roof
to circle in wider and wider tight arcs
as if the roof were the bottom of a cup
and they rose to trace the cup's rim, all
close to each other as they swing
a sharply tilting circle around and around until
two break off in wobbling flight north
and after more spins three fly west as the rest keep
wheeling in the air until they all
drop
to the big flat roof, stand
along its edge. The young Hispanic man, thin
moustache, dressed for manual labor, who had commented
before they lifted off
that the bus is late, now says, “Makes you
tired
just looking at 'em.” “Not me,”
I don't say, not wanting to seem delighted
by birds or happy to be awake and going
to earn bread. “Yeah,” I say, almost dismissively,
“but that was beautiful.” I add, “They got their
work-out.” He gives me a laugh.
Page(s) 124
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