He had no intention
of walking across the bridge,
but the traffic lights kept turning
green and green again.
He began to complain to them
about being rushed, always
getting the “go ahead,”
the “thumbs up,”
the big “okey dokey.”
He saw the giant sign
for Hertz Rent-A-Car
and was suddenly jealous of the man
who worked the counter
constantly handing out keys,
not knowing each time if they
will return or not return.
Once in an Atlanta hotel
he talked to the maid in schoolboy
Spanish for hours about farm
animals and how cows sometimes
can make you cry with those
big eyes. She was young and
when he returned to the conference
all the men in suits looked
like barbed wire.