there are maps

down in the subway

there are maps

if you can read them

you'll get where you are going

of course, even if you can't read them

you'll get where you are going

anyway

that's just how it goes

I've been studying this phenomenon

for some time now

it's profound, yet simple:

you always get where you are going

to put it in other terms,

as a wise man once said:

"everything is the way it is

because it got that way"


--Ross Bender

the roofers at morn

the roofers wake me up in the morning

with their vulgar shouts

banging their ladders against the house

“hey!” “yo!” “watch it!”

the leaves are brown and crumpled

squirrels scurry in the eaves

the roofers raise high their ladders

banging against the house

the garbage trucks are moaning now

the trash men crash the cans around

with their vulgar shouts

“hey!” “yo!” “goddammit!”

the radio blaring full blast

with the news I don’t want to hear

the car alarms begin their morning screeching

“iki-iki-iki-iki wail wail wail!”

sometimes it seems the whole damn world conspires

to wake me up

even my dear wife wakes me up

“I’m leaving now!”

impossible to get back to sleep

listen!

I moved to this neighborhood for a little peace and quiet!

turn it down, blast it!

so I grudgingly roll out of bed

yank on my robe, look in the mirror

must I shave today?

no, blast it!

the whole world – the roofers, the sirens, the radios,

the trucks, the squirrels and the neighbors

even my lovely wife wakes me up, gratuitously,

to kiss me goodbye

--Ross Bender

strange women approach me

strange women approach me on the bus
wanting to know my business
they’re subtle
asking for directions
asking for a cigarette
don’t they know you can’t smoke on the bus?

might be social workers
might be ladies of the night
might be a honey trap
you never know
when you’re riding the bus

that’s why I just say no
keep staring ahead in the distance
watching the streets go by
and the people dancing
murals, coffee shops, hair braiding salons

and days go by

you see women on the bus
you think you recognize
exotic women in rain ponchos
with the Chinese character for “the way”
(in Japanese “michi”)

when you get a little closer
it’s some football logo
you feel foolish for having asked
“why are you wearing ‘michi’ on your poncho?”
they must think you’re nuts

that’s why I just say no
when I get the impulse
to talk to strangers
keep staring ahead in the distance
watching the streets go by

--Ross Bender