Lunch today, coffee and an empanada,

because I was preparing for a day of sitting

on a bus and not really eating anything, just

peanuts, and skittles.

Sitting here instead,

Blue jeans rolled up to thighs, gray worn t-shirt

I’ve been wearing for days.

The empanada came wrapped in butcher paper,

cellophane-taped shut,

then dropped in a plastic bag.

The bag fogs, immediately,

The empanada microwaved before sale.

21st century convenience, supposedly.

Sometimes I wonder,

Is this wandering and drinking bad coffee some glimpse of Kerouac’s life?