A long ride

There is a long bus

Riding up 16^th street tonight

One small victory

For the working poor

On a Wednesday in December

With biting wind

And the patience of Job

Yes I am excited that

The restaurant workers

And office cleaners

The security guard

And nurse aides

Get a seat on the bus tonight

Most of the people who get on

Tonight

At 11:18 PM will ride a while?

The bus lurching

Slower because it’s bigger

But still there is room for us all

Most weekends

There are well dressed white people

Who take the s4 or s2

Quick stops

With bags of wine

Or pizza from whole foods

The weather is usually better than

On nights like tonight

When it’s cold

There is a sea

Of brown and black faces

The only goal is to get home

Weary from waiting on buses

Weary from waiting on people

Weary

The metro doesn’t care what your job is

They keep raising fares

But the article in the post about workers and commute

And buses that are to full

Has made it impossible to ignore the need

There is a long bus

Up 16^th street tonight

I hope it remains

That way

A memorial

To blood sweat tears

A reminder

That we are