Metro North Gothic — Scorn
the inescapable smugness of the Already Seated
Published in
2 min readJun 6, 2019
“Do you dare?”
by Joe Váradi
Those looks.
Those smug looks.
Of scorn. And disdain.
Looking up from their morning papers
just long enough to judge, to
cut me down to size.
As I wobble down
the narrow aisle of the
accelerating train I just boarded.
Dodging protruding knees
and encroaching elbows.
Those scornful looks.
Of the Proud.
The Fortunate.
The Already Seated.
Shifting their bodies,
and possessions,
ever so slightly,
to instinctively guard
that most Precious of Commodities —
the Empty Seat next to them.
My eyes meet the gaze of an alpha male.
He is a true master of his commuting domain.
Pupils flashing, lips trembling, as if to ask, without asking:
