Her t-shirt says “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful, hate me because I’m a bitch.” I feel disinclined to hate anyone, but since she does not look to be beautiful in any obvious sense of the word, I am hoping she’s wrong about the bitch part too.

The poster on the subway wall wants you to eat a handful of peanuts every day. So the picture is of a handful of peanuts. I draw eyes and teeth and horns and scales on them, turning them into tiny monsters. If you put them in your mouth, they might bite you back.

I am sitting on the bench, sweat still running off my elbows from my run. She walks by and smiles gently, so I do too. Then she offers me her Jesus. No, thank you though.