A car got T-boned during rush hour,
causing the city bus to take a detour
down a normally quiet, residential road.

Standing shoulder to shoulder
with no choice but to let our bodies touch,
we try not to brush against skin.
We move in jerked motions,
starting and stopping
as we roll over a speed bump.

An old woman clenches a shopping cart
between her legs, a mother strains
to keep her toddler in her lap,
and I stand on my tiptoes
to grasp the handle.

All while a seated man balances
rolling paper on his knee,
sprinkling marijuana with the precision
of a clockmaker adjusting a watch
that runs a bit too slow.