On the 6 train, a man sits
near the tail, dressed
in a leather bomber jacket,
baggy jeans and big sneakers.

I sit opposite him, without refuge
of iPod or reading. He looks
about 40, his right eye
swollen shut, splashed purple.

In his hands, a book.
He raises his good eye
to meet mine. We gaze—
one beat, two beat, three—

and I think, if I were an angel
working undercover in New York,
this would be the perfect costume.
In the old stories, God would show up

on doorsteps in disguises—
elderly woman, mendicant monk,
neighbor needing rice—
to test people.

If this guy rang my doorbell
would I let him in?
God bless, he says, as I stand
to exit the train, and I notice

the book in his hands is a Bible.
On the platform, I turn.
Our eyes meet and hold each other
until the train pulls away.

Marie-Elizabeth Mali was born and raised in NYC and is married to fellow New Yorker, Taylor Mali. She is a student in the MFA in Poetry program at Sarah Lawrence College and her work has appeared in the online journal 2River View and is forthcoming in Calyx.

---

Spread the word

Average user rating

   (0 vote)