The Ofi Press Magazine

By J.D. Smith, USA (Published in Issue 9)

Security Guard on the Metro

Seated, he folds in from a day of standing,

shirt-tails let out from under a jacket

whose shoulder patch reads “Special Police”

in the sense that means neither.

His badge can’t open doors or mouths.

His gun does not exist.

There is no good way to ask

about his shift,

nor the fabric that encloses him.

It looks like something manmade,

heavy and flammable.

J.D. Smith’s third collection of poetry will be published in 2012. He has also published an essay collection, Dowsing and Science, and the children’s book, The Best Mariachi in the World, released in bilingual, Spanish and English editions in 2008. He lives and works in Washington, DC.