I used to be embarrassed and annoyed to stand by the bus stop and wait for the bus to arrive.
But now I realize what a gift it is,
I am closer to the earth, closer to people.
I can smell the putrid smell of urine and smoke.
I can feel the thunder of the vehicles as they speed by.
I can look people in their eyes as I make way for them to pass around me.
I can see the doves pecking at some invisible piece of food left, probably by the vendor that sits at the same place every day, selling the same stale snacks and single cigarettes.
I can feel the wind in my eyes and the small leaves from the tree above me, fall onto my head, like rain.
My senses are awake and I too am aware.
I see the sweet elderly couple marching past me, dressed in their Sunday best,
even though it’s a Wednesday afternoon.
I hear the non-stop blaring of the taxis as they race past me, trying to fill up their seats so they can fill up their bellies.
There’s a homeless man on a bicycle, risking traffic to cross the street, not at all confident in the two wheel transportation, which is probably the only thing he owns.
I see the people by the traffic lights, handing out pamphlets for a car wash or your next real estate that you simply must have. Their bucket hats drawn down low as the sun hits down on their backs.
The half torn pamphlets on the street poles tell a different story, messages of finding a lost lover and maybe possibly becoming a better lover yourself.
It makes me wonder how many people have dialed that number.
I see them, the people in their cars, sitting with their thoughts,
probably daydreaming of a different place and time
and it is here where they allow me to bring their stories to life.
Colourful, interesting, sometimes happy and sometimes sad. Neither here nor there.
What a privilege it is to see people as they are from where I stand.
I see my bus finally arrive, a little relieved and a little sad because now I have to stop telling their stories and go make my own.
I used to be embarrassed to wait for the bus stop but now I realize, sometimes, that’s exactly where I am supposed to be.