Thank you so much!

by Devyn Flores

I walk out 191st station
to a coffee cup’s steady jangle.
As jazz fades in my ear,
I’m greeted by a smile
inside an ash grey beard.

Have a good day!
Likewise.

He stands about 6’2” with broad shoulders.
In another life he would’ve been a Pro Bowler.
But today, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’s morrow,
the small space at this stop is borrowed.

Have a good day!
To passersby, who come and go.

Silent judges, refusal’s woeful speak,
“how does he even manage to eat?”
Tap to pay, tap to pay, no cash today!
a digital world, with paths unpaved.

Thank you so much!

“Generosity will never fix this problem,”
I gently whisper, not to plant doubt’s seed,
of band-aids on cracked dams,
and lip-service to clipped ears.

Thank you so much!

The downtrodden horse relays
to peers drunk of arrogance,
for terms like “unhoused,”
have yet to enter their stable.

Thank you so much!

To the man in a light-brown fleece,
whose ice-cold stare feels like
a broken mirror’s reflection
from a future not far off.

Thank you so much!

To the chipped tooth addict
whose recovery wraps my mind
like a boxer’s shadow to his step,
every time I pass his borrowed space.

Thank you so much!

To the man outside the 191st station.

Devyn Flores is currently a student at CCNY, majoring in Comparative Literature. He is a New York native who is graduating in Spring 2026 and is planning to attend graduate school for Comparative Literature with a specialization in critical theory.