Coming Home from Work in December
Jolted in the bus,
I look up to see where we are,
almost dizzy because of gloom
and the dazzle of passing Christmas lights.
The bus windows mist,
streaked with bubbles, as if
we working folk dazed with fatigue ride
dunked
in a crooked flute of champagne.
In the half-melted snowy night,
I think a crowd of angels has stumbled
into a gigantic glass of fizzy stars.
Drunk wings stagger,
lost in mazy avenues of heaven.
We toss on our seats, leaning on thin metal, tinsel
and dingy glass,
wondering if we miss our stops in the dark.
Mary Elizabeth Birnbaum was born, raised, and educated in New York City. Mary’s translations of the Haitian poet Felix Morisseau-Leroy has been published in The Massachusetts Review, Into English (Graywolf Press), and in And There Will Be Singing, An Anthology of International Writing. Her work has appeared in Lake Effect, J Journal, Spoon River Poetry Review, Soundings East, Barrow Street, and other literary journals. In 2022 Mary received two nominations for a Pushcart Prize.
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