fair

too early in the morning
to be talking to yourself while pushing an unsteady bike by the handlebars
and navigating a minefield of half-eaten turkey legs
soiled diapers
cardboard nacho trays with dried cheese
and other unidentified detritus

sun is barely coming above the horizon
good morning good morning
yea yea yea he says with glassy red eyes
he says something else
his voice rings obtusely: starts low and ends high
a reversed doppler effect
and then another strange turn of events
everything’s been flipped
turned upside down
it’s the last thing he says before he goes back to muttering at the bike
at the garbage on the sides of the road
it sounds like this:

¿sǝɯ,oɥ ǝɯ ɹɐǝh noy ¡sǝɯ,oH