Shifting by Matthew Murrey

I was wind and sunlight again

on the El platform as a train pulled in.

Its doors opened to a woman  

with wild, gray hair and loose layers 

of mismatched clothes. Without one word 

she tossed a blessing of birdseed for the birds  

then pigeoned back from the closing doors.

I could call her crazy, but what about you and me 

shifting for ourselves in our drabs and grays that hide

our iridescent purple and green fly-away dreams? 

I wish I could wear my wings on my sleeves, even as I grub 

for the money that gets me the food I need and the place I sleep.

—————-

Matthew Murrey is the author of Bulletproof(Jacar Press, 2019) and the forthcoming collection, Little Joy (Cornerstone Press, 2026). His website is at https://www.matthewmurrey.net/, and he can be found on Bluesky and Instagram under the handle @mytwords.