Getting off the Bus - Adele Mendelson

[Larry Robinson]

Getting off the Bus

​It’s not being dead I mind so much
because once you’re gone, you’re gone, right?
Peaceful, like sleep, like before you were born.

And how else would you want it?
some noncorporal part of yourself
wandering the stratosphere,
Looking for what?

A lot of people would like to be reborn.
But, think about it, wasn’t this life enough for you?
Do you want more allergies, hair loss, credit card debt,
D-minus‘s, weight gain, broken hearts
and worn-out motor mounts?

No, it’s not death I mind so much
It’s getting off the bus, missing

the ride, the city a motion picture out the window,
the passengers nutso, just like me, the way they laugh too loud,
argue about baseball, tell vulgar jokes, and give someone a dollar
cause he looks like he needs it

And the skinny teenager sitting in the back
turns on his radio a loud thumping beat
and two high school girls in pleated skirts, get up and dance
then the joints go around along with the beer
and even the driver is singing.

It’s the pretty Latina in a tight red skirt,
who sits down beside me
flirting with her body, saying
“Don’t you have a girlfriend, guapo?”

No, it’s not being dead I’ll mind.
It’s getting off the bus, and watching it drive on without me.

	- Adele Mendelson