EMPTY BUSES DURING A QUARANTINE
The 166 careens back and forth
on the way to the bus terminal
without a passenger in view.
The driver clutches a black 38
his brother-in-law, a cop, gave him,
just before he drank himself to death.
When the streets are empty,
he was advised to defend himself.
He fingers the scars on his cheeks
from when he got pistol-whipped
in a robbery for the cash on hand
when he drove an empty bus down
a deserted Riverside Drive after 9/ll.
He makes a note to stock up on ammo
since danger could be everywhere.