July 6, 2024:
Walmart, Chinese takeout, American flag.
Red beret, LOUD operatic voice,
the Bessie Smith of public transit.
Locked, not rolling, as the trolley lurches through 70th Street.
UC San Diego Health East.
I would like to receive my medical care here.
It has its own convenient trolley stop.
Sadly, they won't take me.
I checked.
"No need gittin mad at ME," Bessie insists.
"Caint blame nobody but yasself. Right?"
Right.