-“Tell everyone on this train that I love them.” - Taliesin Namkai-Meche, Hollywood Transit Center, Green Line, Portland Oregon, May 26, 2017.
In the seat next to you sits a stranger, shining brow, sweating
shirt stains evident exhaustion palpable like your own
for one moment, close your eyes in trust can you feel him
not his hands or the side of his body his heartsource
can you open is your skin thin enough
for his love to permeate you
could he be your murderer? he may have daggers within him
I have seen those who have thrown away their souls for nothing
could he be your prophet? he may be capable
I have seen those who have given up their lives and they are everything
Amy Baskin's recent work has appeared in VoiceCatcher, Cirque, and Friends Journal. She is a 2018 and 2016 Willamette Writers Kay Snow Poetry honorable mention recipient. When she's not writing, she matches international students at Lewis & Clark College with local volunteers to help make them feel welcome and at home during their stay.