a moment of connection

sitting on the 137 bus from oxford street yesterday
evening, i was next to a woman reading a book of
poetry. i had my headphones on, but kept sneaking a
glance over her shoulder at the poems. eventually,
she showed me the cover. i took out the earpieces and
said, "i was wondering what you were reading as i
looked over your shoulder." she smiled and asked what
it was that i had been reading. i told her it was a
piece i'd been working on at my writing workshop. she
said, "as i looked at it over your shoulder, i thought
it might be." i smiled at her, and then we reached my
stop. "take care," i said. "bless you," she said,
and i got off the bus.

i wonder who she was. a minister, perhaps, i thought.
i wonder what would've happened if i'd've stayed on
the bus. i did have an all-day bus pass. on the
other hand, it doesn't really matter. it was a brief
encounter (maybe this is a better title for this
post!). somehow, though, it gave me a little bit of hope.