D train from Coney
thru to Harlem
a slow train
we stop at each stop

as i read Paul Theroux
&qout;Riding the Iron Rooster:
By Train Through China"
frozen trains cross Manchuria
tunnel thru mountains
steam engines
coal smoke tapping on the windows
minus 38 centigrade outside
there’s frost on the doorlatch

this D train is air conditioned
not refrigerated
full of Russians and blacks
few Chinese
the occassional white
me

i sit with my notebook
her head on my lap
Brooklyntrashbin record player at my side
we cross the bridge to Manhattan
outside,
almost dawn of steel girders and Brooklyn Bridge
fog of Empire State, Chrysler Building
we dive with the bridge
to the island
on the island
into the island
under the island

black

inside the island
thru tunnels
to Grand St.
white tile of underground dormitory
passengers sleep
rocked in snaking cradles
lullabyed by
"Broadway-Lafayette-
transfer upstairs for F service-
West 4th next stop-
stand clear of the closing doors"