Laundromat

People sit in rooms with endless patience,
moving from one to another,
space to space, changing functions.

There will be a clock hanging from a wall
marking the passage of the time spent
inside that particular room. It can move

with pained agony or sprint like an Olympic
runner. Wait patiently. Move hurriedly.

Have you ever watched time move
in a Laundromat?

Tumbling cycles, noise, faces looking
to be left alone, someone searching
dirty pockets for the right change.

A child grows bored as her mother
talks on her phone. A man enters
and thinks how beautiful she is.