Night Bus Poem by Pavol Janik

I admire the smiles
of the wax figures
and the drunks.
Their faith.
Their humility.
Their precision.
Their infallible wisdom
determined by the office of normalization.
I admire
their wallpapered souls
full of light and brocade.
Their responsibility and legality
surpassing
the price of taxis and wine.
I'm terrified by the indifference
with which they listen
to the heavy breathing of the last trolley buses.

(1981)