Commuter Economy
︎︎︎ Rebecca Grace Cyr
︎ Aug 6, 2024
Times
were tough for the birds downtown. Waiting for the D Line, I watched them fight
over a naked piece of pizza. Twenty or thirty birds and one slice with no
toppings—not even sauce—rolling around in a puddle of bus runoff. They were
dipping down and pecking at it so hard it popped off the ground, went flying in
a soggy triangle and landed on the rear of another bird. It hung like a
backpack, then slid onto a sewer grate, and all the birds dove after it again.
Not even eating. Not even hungry. Not even winning or losing or having any fun.
It was pouring and I was waiting for the bus that had never in my life arrived
on time and I closed my eyes and told myself: For the next three minutes, I will try to sleep standing up.
Rebecca Grace Cyr is a writer from Seattle. Her work has appeared in Muumuu House, Blue Arrangements, X-R-A-Y, HAD, and elsewhere. More info at rebeccagracecyr.com.