Seat on the subway

My legs are tired

But yours could be as well

Are you forty

Or sixty-four?

I meet your eyes

Stand up 

Wait, for an agonizing minute

Then slowly sink back down 

And pretend to fall asleep

Author's Note

Not sure if this is a universal experience, but it often happens to me. I'm completely incapable of discerning strangers' ages.

Any advice or feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/photos/c3zNWcM_0q8

Reviews

[Ookpik]

Hey again, rmarr

I do like working with transit settings (there's something inescapably human about boiling core interactions down to those necessitated by public travel) and I think you do a good job here of providing context in as succinct a manner as possible. What you tell the reader shows a lot, both as to the speaker and the situation, and I do like the premise that you use to do so.

This reminded me somewhat of a short I wrote some years back, linked here if you're interested: https://www.writerscafe.org/writing/Ookpik/2152177/

Thanks again for sharing and, though I doubt you'd find the information particularly useful, for the record I'm 28. Didn't feel like you were asking, but as what essentially amounts to a stranger on an anonymous website, I felt a little compelled to clarify - given the author's note. :)

lol anyways, nice work.

-Ook

[rmarrwrites]

Thank you, I'll check it out! I'm 19, if you haven't discerned. I also feel a bit weird commenting on strangers' writing without them knowing my age outright, especially if they could be younger. I guess it's partly due to how our generations were brought up to be suspicious of people on the internet.

[Ookpik]

Without a doubt, that'd be why. I guess I to some extent 'd share something like my age age in the hopes that it might dispel that suspicion, a little, though it's probably wise to maintain a degree of caution regardless of the situation.

None the less, I appreciate your sharing your material, and I hope you might be able to glean some insights from mine.

Cheers,

-Ook