Stand Right, Walk Left

It’s the simplest rule of travel,
And also the most important
For surviving a trip to my town,
Where the escalators climb
Endless in their scale as in
Their motion. For some
This inexorable metal push
Towards the sky is enough,
But others like myself
Are compelled to apply
The pumping weight
Of thighs and barreling
Flesh to the pace of
The gnashing teeth of industry,
Cranking ourselves up
The concrete tubes of the subway
Stairways with a speed
That is superhuman
But also supermachine.