subway metaphysics

[aptsvet]

i take the e-train from the forty-second
an aged gent is trying to convince
my neighbor on the left that she will not
die from her lethal and malignant ailment
she looks upbeat my neighbor on the right
is a young girl in black up to her eyes
perusing the quran her lips are moving
la ilaha illallahu she says
or something close enough squeezed in-between
the two despairs i keep my calm and think
yes i will die no there is no salvation
it is a secret they will never learn