2 December 2003 | Vol. 3, No. 4

Feminine & Masculine of the Day

by ROBERT GIBBONS

Did you know the ocean has a skin this morning, a real skin of light, like a newborn? October turning tropical. The woman with the thinnest ankles wobbling away on her high heels like a flamingo trying to catch up with the rest of the flock, once she kisses her balding young husband goodbye. Trucks from the Big Dig rumble over Atlantic Avenue, buckling above the Hole, & under the weight of their steel payloads banging with sounds of artillery. The bleached blonde in her faux fur coat, who must have missed the weather report this morning putting her make-up on, remains unfazed. Stone winged lion steady on the corner of the Chadwick Lead Works, perched, & ready to fly off in any emergency. Lebanese taking care of business in David's Instant Shoe Repair. At the State Street subway stop, where I usually sweat under four huge fans, I catch a chill. The black-lace bra on the sidewalk in front of Huntington Wine & Spirits I predict will not be there when I get back from my wanderings, is not.