I Don't Know What Is Going On, But Half The People Are Crazy

the streets smell of coffee and the burnt ends of last night’s cigarettes. faces move past me like they’ve been sandpapered— eyes dull, shoulders pulled up like bad weather. the mailman walks slower, the bartender pours heavier, even the pigeons look nervous. something’s in the air— a weight you can’t see but you feel it pressing your ribs. I drink my beer, pretend I’m above it, but the truth is my chest is tight too. whatever it is, it’s leaking through the cracks. and we’re all standing in it, pretending it’s just another day.