by Samantha Lish
Largely disinterested by their surroundings, people bounce or more accurately, lurch. Forward motion creating orbs of privacy, allowing for isolated moments seemingly suspended in time, before the anticipatory rush of new people breaks the rhythm. Shuffling of limbs and belongings, absently. Plant your feet the breadth of a shoulder apart, prove you are master over the engine, grip between hands the wise pole, or be of the select few elevated on seats. The subway.
Imagine what you would see if you stared with not glazed, but seeing eyes. People coated in stories, detectable though only by the awake. A man across from you with special needs, his fingers dangling above his lap, poking the air. He periodically looks down to check on them. You go back to your book, but then glance up again still troubled. Draw an inference from closer inspection, and it happens that you were wrong. There is an apparent pattern to his seemingly jerky movement. He is practicing piano and making use of his time. Turn away abashedly. Don’t assume that you know. You learn for next time.
Slow down the urge to briskly walk through. Quelled anyway by the line to the elevator. Steamy box, a personality mixing tool. Be a part of the unplanned interactions. Different people sautéed together. A woman advises a little girl to like math when she grows up. The policeman groans along with others and says, “numbers are only useful for doing taxes.” “Don’t make me put my teachers hat on,” she laughs. In fact, everyone inside laughs, and continue to until exiting onto the streets.
But before you leave the station, you stop. There is music. You must confront its source. “No it’s not about the camera! Don’t be an art sponge,” the didgeridoo player in the subway station chastises. He has most aptly summarized the importance of awareness. Put down your device. You don’t need a memory aid, just enjoy. Take this as a warning against passively existing. You will be surprised at how many moments “so human” in a city so hard can be collected without the tremendous effort of a search party. Clean your glasses; engage with the world. And from this there is an endless reservoir from which to draw inspiration.
