Gypsy

Notes From MUNI

Pink bandana around her neck
Nestled against her
Light skinned man
With long black hair
Red skateboard by his seat
In the back of the bus.
I walk back
Take a seat with my side facing,
"What's her name?"
"Gypsy."
Giving her a little room
And time.
Across the aisle with
Deep indentations in a thin dark face
Golden horse head atop his wooden cane
Discussing the relative merits of
German Shepherds and other dogs we've known, the
Young black woman facing him
Says she wants to get her kids s dog
For graduation.
I say I heard on the news
You can adopt one for free
This weekend. San Francisco,
Maybe Oakland, Alameda.
She says she'll check it out.
Gypsy lying at my feet, 
Rolls over,
Lets me rub her belly
Then leans against my leg.
Her skater man says
Wow that's real unusual
Man, that's really rare. A man who
Just got on with his wife and daughter asks,
Does this bus go to the the Allemany Farmers Market?
We three raise our arms and point in the opposite direction. 
Skater man: "You have to get off at the next stop." We all
Laugh and wave as they step off at
30th and Church, calling out,
"Thank you!" Another turn, up and over,
Bus stops after a steep downhill run. Somebody falls down.
Big. Old. Dark. Zipperdown.
The man with the cane, wiry, he's
Skinny enough to move through the crowd.
Picks him up. I can't help
Because of my shoulder and
The man is drunk deadweight.
Somebody else
Finds him a seat.
Asks if he needs to go to the hospital.
"No."
Cane man sits back down.
We talk some more about Gypsy
How she pulls skater man
Down the street
And gets a good workout.

For the next ten blocks
We're part of her pack
And one by one
We leave.

Gypsy with her skater man
The old black dude with his cane
The lady on her iPhone now
And me.