cars go by
the signs somehow stop them in their tracks
the unspoken rules of the road
like how people get the right of way
everytime
except in some cases
but no one tells you those cases
so when I went walking
and crossed the walk
when it said "walk"
I was surprised
when the car
that was stopped
in front of the white lines
honked at me and
almost crashed into me
if it wasn't for the honk
I would've assumed
that the car didn't see me
that I was an invisible
bystander
but the person inside this vessel
chose not to see
what was waiting patiently
for the light to turn
because these were the rules of the road
or so I thought
maybe the rules had changed
it had been a long time
since I was last out
maybe I had missed this new rule
when I was boarded up
in my scrawny little room
with the peeling paint
the plaster cracked
and the stale crackers in the cupboard
I didn't get the news in those days
I couldn't afford it
or at least
I pretended I couldn't
I mean I could spend
2 bucks
on the corner
across from my apartment
down the road a bit
a rusty, mustard-yellow
metal box
with 3 or 4
wrinkled newspapers
maybe it was cheaper than 2 bucks
I don't know
it doesn't matter
what was the point of paying
for a b&w declaration
of the messed up world
which I already knew existed
only it didn't exist in black and white
it shone with vivid colors
so one could not miss it
what would be the point?
I guess
the point
or purpose
would to scan
for the new regulations
of pedestrians
and cars
maybe it would be a discussion
in court
a "person vs. the honda civics"
or perhaps a "self-help" column
next to the obits
either way
I would never know
