headphones

Faded Jacket

Converse-esque shoes, non-descript blue jeans and a black messenger bag between his legs. A green Henley that is buttoned all the way up except for the top button. A black jacket that looks like it could be Carhart from how durable it appears. The black is fading to white along the seams and it can…

Diagonal Line

He has has a golden patch of hair right at the top of his hair in the middle of a wave of medium to dark brown hair. It is hard to tell if it is from too much time in the sun or fading color. A work ID is clipped to his pants over his…

Disengaged

Staring straight ahead, the subway rider is completely disengaged from the conversation happening next to her. Her companion to her left is completely animated, gesticulating when she talks, while their male companion nods along with a small smile. Her hair is up in a ponytail that is half pulled through its black hair tie into…

Me

She stands with her big, black backpack between her feet like a penguin and its egg. When she has to move she pushes it around with her foot or picks it up by the handle with one hand instead of shuffling around with it on her feet. Her legs are clad in skinny black pants…

Black and Leather

Black leather briefcase, black leather ankle high dress shoes, and white, black, and navy blue argyle/plaid socks. His pants are black and nicely pressed, his black overcoat has its collar popped and he holds his coffee in his right hand, resting it on his briefcase, his left holding his newspaper. He is listening to something…

Welcome to Earth! No One Cares.

There is a man yelling in the middle of the train. I believe he is speaking Spanish, but I have my headphones on and only know that I don’t recognize the words he is spouting during the lulls between songs. He has been going strong since we left the 145 street station and we are…

Stars

She has stars on her sneakers and maybe in her eyes, but it is still too early for them to be open enough for the rest of the world to see. Her white sneakers are dingy and greying with age and she has black textured leggings on and long boot socks that are a dark…

Thank whoever first invented headphones because otherwise I would have already been incarcerated for life. There is a woman who, even though I can’t hear her, is making my skin crawl. She is working that gum like a cow chewing cud and I want to cry. Her mouth never shuts and I can hear the…

Hey Inconsiderate Shithead

Hey Inconsiderate Shithead – Turn that shit off. It is 7:45 in the morning and you are playing fucking candy crush with your sound on and no headphones. Some of us just want a quiet morning commute without having to be part of your inane obsession. The girl in front of me looks like she…

Thinking

What is she thinking about, biting her lip like that? What is playing in her headphones? Her green-blue eyes flick back and forth as she watches things flash by outside. She leans on the bar with one hand, standing on one foot, her other foot resting on its toe. Brown leather boots with a slight…