Where has everybody gone?
Were they not just here beside me?
I was sitting, sitting on the green bench
on the streetside corner (right next to that lovely park),
waiting for the bus to come.
The little old lady with the black lace and the white hair was
snoooring and
snoooring beside me
waiting for the bus to come.
I look down the long and narrow street
With the bustling cars and the busy people.
And
then
POOF!
Where'd the little old lady go? The little old lady
With the black lace
and the white hair
Snoooring and snoooring beside me.
Hm. Odd.
Ah, here comes the bus.
And there it goes.
What's that? No bus driver?
Curious.
Perhaps I shall walk instead.
How quiet everything is.
The cacophony of sounds
that swELL AND FAll and FILL the air
have been brushed aside
Like a dismissed, abandoned
Thought.
How fascinating.
Vehicles in motion
Speeding down the street
Seem t o s l o w d o w n
T o a stop.
Why is there no driver?
Every item left in its place
All accessories, all the clothing,
a blend of colours lying in some mixed-up rainbow of fabric--
What a lovely pair of shoes.
Are they my size?
These would match my outfit well.
No...must leave them. No telling
when the owner will return.
I wonder how long it will take him, though.
...Is it my birthday?
Perhaps everyone is hiding
Waiting to leap out and shout
SURPRISE!
What a trick that would be!
You can come out now! I'm on to you!
Hello?
Is anybody there?
Hm...I suppose not.
Walking down the quiet street.
Awfully hot now. Is it not December?
No matter.
Perhaps that is why the clothes are here,
this mixed-up rainbow of fabric--
everyone is avoiding the heat.
Maybe I should join them?
Nobody else is around. I'll wait for them to come back.
I wonder where that little old lady went, with her
black lace and her
white hair and her
snoooring and snoooring.
Perhaps there is a party.
Yes! A party!
And I missed it.
Just my luck.
It's awfully lonely. I hope they get back soon.
I wonder if there was cake...
The heat is rising...is that sun brighter?
So silent. One could hear
a
pin
d
r
o
p.
ECHO!
Echo..
echo...
How fascinating, when no sound is here but mine.
How boring, too.
Whew. It's boiling here.
I can see steam
s l o w l y r i s i n g
from the sidewalk.
So lonely. All by
Myself.
I suppose I'll just sit here
On the toasty sidewalk
In the bright hot sun (is it really the sun so bright and hot?)
While the steam s l o w l y r i s e s around me.
They'll be back any minute now
...right?
***
I was sitting, sitting on the green bench
on the streetside corner (right next to that lovely park),
waiting for the bus to come.
The little old lady with the black lace and the white hair was
snoooring and
snoooring beside me
waiting for the bus to come.
I look down the long and narrow street
With the bustling cars and the busy people.
And
then
POOF!
Where'd the little old lady go? The little old lady
With the black lace
and the white hair
Snoooring and snoooring beside me.
Hm. Odd.
Ah, here comes the bus.
And there it goes.
What's that? No bus driver?
Curious.
Perhaps I shall walk instead.
How quiet everything is.
The cacophony of sounds
that swELL AND FAll and FILL the air
have been brushed aside
Like a dismissed, abandoned
Thought.
How fascinating.
Vehicles in motion
Speeding down the street
Seem t o s l o w d o w n
T o a stop.
Why is there no driver?
Every item left in its place
All accessories, all the clothing,
a blend of colours lying in some mixed-up rainbow of fabric--
What a lovely pair of shoes.
Are they my size?
These would match my outfit well.
No...must leave them. No telling
when the owner will return.
I wonder how long it will take him, though.
...Is it my birthday?
Perhaps everyone is hiding
Waiting to leap out and shout
SURPRISE!
What a trick that would be!
You can come out now! I'm on to you!
Hello?
Is anybody there?
Hm...I suppose not.
Walking down the quiet street.
Awfully hot now. Is it not December?
No matter.
Perhaps that is why the clothes are here,
this mixed-up rainbow of fabric--
everyone is avoiding the heat.
Maybe I should join them?
Nobody else is around. I'll wait for them to come back.
I wonder where that little old lady went, with her
black lace and her
white hair and her
snoooring and snoooring.
Perhaps there is a party.
Yes! A party!
And I missed it.
Just my luck.
It's awfully lonely. I hope they get back soon.
I wonder if there was cake...
The heat is rising...is that sun brighter?
So silent. One could hear
a
pin
d
r
o
p.
ECHO!
Echo..
echo...
How fascinating, when no sound is here but mine.
How boring, too.
Whew. It's boiling here.
I can see steam
s l o w l y r i s i n g
from the sidewalk.
So lonely. All by
Myself.
I suppose I'll just sit here
On the toasty sidewalk
In the bright hot sun (is it really the sun so bright and hot?)
While the steam s l o w l y r i s e s around me.
They'll be back any minute now
...right?
***
Zachary Vaudo is a writer, film-maker,
and musician living in Marietta, Georgia. He
enjoys long walks on the beach, comic books, and delving
into the darker recesses of the human mind.
