A Grasshopper's Ride

Good morning, Mr. Grasshopper--
want a ride on my left windshield wiper
going south on Espina?
You can watch cars pass
from other directions,
watch students walk on sidewalks,
skateboarders roll through campus,
bystanders with headphones
push walk buttons at traffic lights.
Ha! a lawn sprinkler sprays
a fine mist on you and the windshield.
Let's watch innocent gray doves bob
their heads on the grass.
Oh no! I almost smashed
that low-flying grackle.

I can tell you loathed the experience
by your flinching wide-spread antennas.
Are you breathing?
Normally, I would knock you off by flicking
you with my thumb and middle finger
just to see how far you'd fling in the air.
Instead, I watch how well you attach
yourself on my car on the way to work.

Here, go hide in these well-trimmed bushes.
Welcome to NMSU, Mr. Grasshopper,
where everything is plush green,
where water is everywhere,
where trees bend or dust blows on your face.
But don't stand on the sidewalk;
you might get stepped on.