Too Little Reality

The metropolitan transit system

Has rarely gotten anybody anywhere 

Despite what it looks like 

When you ride it to the end of the line. 

A Hispanic woman watches spicy Korean dramas 

On the bus ride from fruit stand to fruit stand, 

Identifying with the bedsheets 

More than with those between them. 

Her fantasies fail to reach a climax

Before she arrives at the planned intersection 

Hauling her cart of oranges to the sidewalk 

While timid souls wonder if they should help her. 

The mixed race lady who takes her place 

Enjoys some ab-heavy reality show,

Rehearsing her audition tape 

If ever there's a national casting call. 

It's not that reality is too much, 

It's just that reality is too little 

For those with big dreams and small arms, 

Tiny purses and endless shopping lists. 

Another seat filler soon arrives 

With an airport erotic novel, 

Perhaps a bit old-fashioned 

Then again, nothing's ever really new.

Sam Hendrian

ABOUT THE POET:

Sam Hendrian is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, poet, and playwright striving to foster empathy through art. From writing personalized poems for passersby outside of LA's oldest independent bookstore every Sunday, to making Chaplin-esque silent films about loneliness and human connection once a month, Sam lives to make other people feel seen and validated. More work can be found on Amazon, YouTube, and in various online literary magazines.