She Calls Me Songbird

My new friend calls me Songbird
Elvis Presley is close to my lips while I work
The others laugh and I smile-
worthy of the hour and a half of trains and buses
both ways
Now I recognize the sweet face
of the driver who picks me up at night
Her familiarity is comforting
as are the other commuters on the train
We talk about the movie “Hair Show”
One apologizes when he curses in front of me
These new things
are green, overturned leaves,
unexpected colors in a life I thought I knew
My choices are now off the already beaten path
She calls me Songbird
I am following the sounds of this bird
to something completely different

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