These Days by Leslie Clark
Yesterday afternoon I went down to the stadium to sit on a concrete bench and watch the spectators leaving the basketball game. Braids, Bape and backwards caps, furtrimmed jackets, fathers holding apple-cheeked babies aloft on their shoulders. My breath clouded from between my clattering teeth as a fat man blew out his cigar. High school boys re-enacted plays. “Did you see when-” “How about-” Their voices left me too fast.
Yesterday evening after the game I walked over to the quay to smoke and watch the ships unload. I saw young families and men in black peacoats, so close I could have touched them. A burly man rubbed his stubbled chin and took his daughter’s hand. “This way, Katie.” A man in a suit talked on his phone. “Four days? We don’t have that kinda time! You think I’m fuckin’ Jesus or something?”
Yesterday night I went down to the bridge over the wide green river to eat a sandwich and watch the silent water roll by under my feet. They put up screens so people can’t jump down into it. I touched them with my fingers, sore in the cold, and set off home.
This morning I woke up and rolled over to hit my alarm. It was seven and too bright, the sun fierce and loud under my shade. I put on my coat and stuck a subway token in my jeans pocket, and then I took my coat off. I would only be making a short walk. I paid at St. George station and the grizzled man in the booth stared at me as I pushed through the turnstile.
Today I walked down into the subway. A few people stood by the westbound side. I walked down again. Packed for the morning rush to work, the platform teemed with people. One train came and went, and I got closer to the yellow line that separated me from the rats that sparkled between the brown tracks. The next train thundered in. I caught his eyes as he came closer, wide with terror and regret. I smiled gratefully.
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About the Author
Leslie Clark
Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Now Resides: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Online: www.lesvclark.wordpress.com
Bio: Leslie has been writing poems and short stories since the age of seven, when she undertook an eight-page epic about two feuding clans of talking eagles. Now she prefers to focus on topics such as family, race, gender roles, and the ways in which these can shape our interaction with the world. “These Days” reflects another one of her favourite themes - the little details of city life. She is currently working on a collection of short stories called Faulty as well as a young adult novel.
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image by xxsardisxx.
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