by Rafael Cevallos
I’m too slow,
Too slow even for the bike lane.
The battery-powered mopeds,
The bikes, the scooters,
They all tear ahead of me in traffic,
Fading in the distance, the space between us grows.
Yet, only moments later, I catch them at the intersection
Where we’re all stopped by the same red light.
Someday, I’d like to reach over with my hand
To palpate some faceless rider’s radial-pulse
And compare the rhythm of their hearts
To the diminishing speed of mine.
How much is lost to the periphery?
24 hours in a single earth day
And countless seconds which I’ve existed
That have gone unlived.
There’s a Colombian restaurant on 69th st I hadn’t noticed
serving dishes I’ve not yet tried.
And, a few blocks on, a big old house I’ll never live in
Which now belongs to me.
The Manhattan skyline looks so pretty
From the overpass on Grand Street,
Beyond the blur of vehicles that come and go
Over the Queens Midtown Expressway.
It’s only now I realize, how uniquely vantaged I am to see this,
And hear these lines from unknown dictate,
A voice that clears its throat and speaks infrequent,
Please just stay a little longer, please don’t go away.
No other being in existence to see it like I see it,
And write it like I write it,
This moment induplicable, never to be repeated,
This thread uniquely born to me.
I’ve hit the cosmic lottery.
I’ve loved and lost, and lived to play again.
I pass a camera store on Fresh Pond Road,
And am surprised to know they’re still around.
Are any of these things even worth seeing?
I think I can reach any corner of the earth,
At a comfortable 6 miles per hour,
I’m no longer rushing to the point.
The flashing light on my scooter,
Indicates that the battery is running dry
But it’s okay, because, from here on out,
The grade is smooth and easy,
and downhill all the way.
Rafael Cevallos is a lover of adventure who’s dedicated significant amounts of time to exploring the Ecuadorian rainforest. After years of travel, his fascination with human movement and exercise as the ultimate form of preventative medicine lead him to LaGuardia Community College, where he majors in Physical Therapy. He currently works as a rehabilitative exercise specialist. His time on the road and now, as a student, have been part of a process of discovering his voice as a writer. He is working on a collection titled, “Love, Violence and Other Cosmic Vagaries.” Follow him on Instagram @r.i.cevallos
Image: “Man Riding a Bicycle in The City,” Zeeshaan Shabbir. CC BY 2.0.
