NYC as pea soup

It was bound to come, this hot and humid morning. All the usual metaphors apply, well worn. The sky seemed pregnant, waiting to burst in rain. We walked through what felt like pea soup on our way to the park. Our shirts were soaked in sweat. Scout and I took a brief stroll around Tompkins square as the morning started lazily. Many of the homeless people sat on benches, dirty and just waking up, waiting for the free breakfast truck to park at the edge of Avenue A. Garbage cans overflow. One of the lawn gates is open so Scout and I take a short stroll through the forbidden lawn. A number of men are still asleep in make shift tents and on found blankets throughout the lawn. Young and old. Some look mentally ill and others seem to be runaways or punkers passed out for the night. In that early morning light all the sleeping men look like toddlers to me. They were all someone's son; they all took naps once upon a time.