Entry Error

The card reader blinks a flat, red "No."

I lean in too fast, expecting the flow.

The steel bar hits me right in the bone,

leaving me stalled and feeling alone.

A line forms behind me, a sigh and a cough.

The city is ready to shunt me right off.

I stare at the grease where my trousers just pressed,

a thumb-printed metal that failed the test.

I fumble my wallet, my face getting hot,

checking the balance for money I haven't got.

I'm standing here waiting for the click to come,

while the rest of the world is beginning to hum.