A city has expectations

Unspoken morning rules that

mix in with the slight swirling smoke

From the construction workers coffee cups

That work their way in between the cars and the jaywalking commuters darting across on their spindly legs bags tucked at their sides like wings

In a metropolis of people

The buses learn to expect

The baby stroller parades and the old man with a cane and a loss in his eyes

His mutterings blend in with the bus' hum

As change clatters for a fare