Watching

Some people watch birds

Not me
 
I'll sit on the front stoop
And watch the people go by
Or I'll sit in a cafe booth
And watch the people talk
 
The boy popping wheelies on his bike
The old woman carrying her dog 'for a walk'
The girl flipping her hair
As the oblivious boy walks past
The man shaking it in line
With the toddler on his hip
 
And as I watch them as they walk
And as I watch them as they talk
I pick up all those quirks
That make them special:
A lopsided grin with a single dimple;
A tongue stuck out of the corner of a mouth in concentration;
A leg crossed with the foot cocked up almost against a shin;
Leaning against a car with a hand possessively on the top,
Fingers caressing in circles as he speaks;
Or a pair of pencils going full speed on a textbook at the bus stop,
Clicking and tapping to Ipod music I can't hear;
Little girl sitting with one leg tucked under her;
A two-year-old calling Mommy's shades her headband.
 
Oh yes,
I pick up all these quirks
And write them down
To give my characters.