One California Bus

He leans into his phone
like he’s confessing.

His lips move but
no one hears him.

Tapping his left foot
against the wheel well

you know he wants
to vacate this

lesser vehicle and
set free his own

puff of white smoke.

 

About the Poet:
Mark J. Mitchell studied writing at UC Santa Cruz under Raymond Carver, George Hitchcock and Barbara Hull. His work has appeared in various periodicals over the last thirty five years, as well as anthologies including Good Poems, American Places. It has also been nominated for Pushcart Prizes and The Best of the Net. He has three chapbooks in print: Lent 1999, (Leaf Garden), Three Visitors (Negative Capability Press) and Artifacts and Relics (Folded Word) and a novel, Knight Prisoner, (Vagabondage Press) He lives in San Francisco with his wife, the documentarian Joan Juster.

 

Poetry Breakfast accepts submissions of poetry and poetry related creative non-fiction year-round.  See our Submission Guidelines page for details on submitting your work.

 

Photo by Amber Avalona.