M4 Moments

She sat quietly. Suddenly, her words raced across the aisle,
To exclaim: “Ma’am are you okay?”
The response, from a woman in style reminiscent of my grandmothers’ buba and iro,
Drifted groggily back and wore the slightest accent: 
“Yep, just trying to rest.”
The two exchanged a small smile.

---

He sat and bore content on his face.
A four-legged walker stood next to him.
A screaming child and his mother boarded.
They sat across from the man while she tried to calm him.
The man reached out with kind words
And two dollars “for ice cream”
In exchange for good behavior.

---

We board together and sit apart.
I read. She eats. We exchange occasional glances.
One stop. Then the next. Then a moth.
Our eyes trail it independently.
It flits between the aisle
Bringing our eyes together.
It drifts. And drifts more.
Before landing on someone’s hair.
The person does not notice.
We exchange glances once more.
This time a smile’s added.
We exit at the same stop.
And go our separate ways.

From the artist: This piece was inspired by experiences while taking NY's public transportation system. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, I have found myself longing for some of ephemeral connections/observations.

Sope Oguntuyo is a 6th year MD/PhD student at Mount Sinai. He was born in Nigeria, but grew up predominantly in Alabama. For his PhD work, he is currently studying emerging zoonotic viruses. Outside of science and medicine, he enjoys watching/playing soccer and dabbling in writing and photography.