The one who greeted
kind and gentle
responsive to humor
clear and present
so easy to see God
in the lightness of her soul.
But then the waiting room
to hell
mashed the faces together
and the smells of
everyman
actually made my eyes hurt.
I looked away from them
back towards the greeter
now lost in a sea of bodies
nothingness
waiting in the doom
in the coldness of this giant room
clamminess
of air too often breathed
just waiting in
the staleness
the paleness.
A voice announces
number after number
too far from mine to bring hope.
The two behind me
chatter
incessantly.
Ugh, who farted, gross.
These people suck.
Until…
The girl looks up from her book
smiles broadly
and offers her seat
the convenience of it
to the older, other-colored woman
guided by a metal walker
and a tiny boy
with creamy tan skin and curls of glowing black hair
staggers behind his dad or brother or uncle
innocence
the face of God is everywhere…
…even at the DMV.