In New York City

A tired looking man selling R rated movies
on the streets of SoHo said, "Hey cutie," to me
as I kept walking with Kara and her mom
and her mom's friend and daughters.
Vietnamese and Chinese and Japanese
women and men stopped me on various occasions
by pushing their products all up in my grill,
claiming 'Bargain!' with every attempt to sell.
Language after language
was spoken and heard,
an overwhelming amount
of diversity with every step I took.
A middle-aged woman
with a messy black bun
took us to the back of her van
parked in a dirty sidestreet
to sell us purses and handbags.
A battery operated Santa Claus
spun/masturbated
up and down a string
hanging from some source
at one of the many scam shops
in SoHo.
An old Asian man
sold baby turtles inside clear cases
filled with colorful pebbles and water
from a Verizon phone booth.
I swallowed my gum
by accident
for the first time in years.