Encyclopedia of Heresies
Forty thousand people stopped taking the train.
The next day it was 50,000.
Then 60,000. Then 80,000 people
stopped.
In just a week, an 80% drop
below the baseline before the virus.
It used to be a city
where boyfriends opened
windows at night
to let in cool Sound air.
To let in an Encyclopedia of Heresies.
Like immigration. And
horses galloping in alleys.
But there are no more manifestos
at the Grand St. sandwich shop after shows.
Our blasphemy and bodies are gone.
Our handicrafts,
bridles,
trumpets,
flutes,
jars,
plows,
ships,
and chariots are silent.
Open the window
and what you’ll hear is nearness walking away.
The sound of tens of thousands of people
riding an empty train.
March 2020