a different route

unlike other
days.
you take
a different
route to go
get coffee
and a paper.
it's a pleasant
day, warmed
with sunlight.
why not explore
and be different
for once,
but you
get lost
along the way,
cutting
through
an alley,
a side street.
you look
up at the sky
to see where
the sun is,
but it's overcast
and the buildings
are too tall
to let in
any light.
you ask a stranger
where you
are, and he shrugs
before asking
you for
money.
you hear sirens,
and dogs
wailing.
a baby crying
in a window.
two lovers fighting
over love
gone wrong.
a crowd of young
men are blocking
the sidewalk
so you go to
the other side,
you keep walking,
as they laugh
you pull up
your collar,
feeling the sudden
rain
upon your hatless
head. the wind
cuts you
to the bone, making
you shiver.
this is a lesson,
you say to yourself
quickening your pace.