Sunday Afternoon Bus Ride through Queens

Q-58 Lmtd from Flushing

Tall Vanilla Latte in my hand
Asians, Latinos, Anglos,
And one mentally disturbed child, autistic, perhaps

Bump, Rattle, Bump over the Blvd

This Sunday’s salvation is the empty seat next to me
I’m all extroverted out
Need some introverted time within

Under the Van Wyck

Highway of death
World's Fair Flying Saucers have landed to the north
As the child now offers blood curdling screams
           reminiscent of an animal trapped in the wild

Is that Mandarin, Cantonese, or Korean I hear?

Definitely a Spanish newspaper in front of me
The Lemon Ice King of Corona
Rules from its throne at 108 St and 52 Ave

Saris, shawls, and sweat suits grace Corona’s sidewalks

Satellite dishes straddle rooftops
As if there is a world with news
Outside of Queens

Mexican and Dominican storefronts now line Corona’s streets

As LEDs advertise CHUZOS
But Asian Characters still adorn signs
Red and yellow billboards of ethnicity

Across Queens Blvd, making way down Grand

Home is not much farther
Soon, familiar sights and sounds of Ridgewood
No different, but still home