ON THE STOOP

I am happy enough

to sit on the stoop

of my apartment building,

on a late Saturday afternoon

in summer.

There’s always the chance

that someone will

plunk themselves down beside me

but the attraction’s mainly

making contact

with people who are going somewhere:

the store, a takeout place,

a party starting early.

Some footsteps are brisk

despite the heat.

Others are as tired as the air.

But almost every face draws a smile.

Some eager, some reluctant,

but all move on

feeling better for it.

We’re still strangers.

But then people mostly are.

Juanita Rey is a Dominican poet who has been in this country five years. Her work has been published in Mixed Mag, The Mantle and The Art Of Everyone.