There were two vaguely Asian tap-dancers on the 1 train platform at 59th Street last night, doing kind of a dance-off during rush hour. Early twenties, with baggy pants and trendy, if sparse, facial hair.
boom chicka-snicka-chicka POW POW
POW chicka boom boomb chic-chicka (beat) POW
ch-ch-ch-ch-chicka snap POW boom chic-chic-ch-chika-chicka POW
They were dancing on wood platforms that were obviously much loved -- one looked like it'd seen better days as the top of a card table; the other was simply a plain piece of plywood turned black by hour upon hour of practice.
snap boom chicka-chicka-chicka-chicka snick chick
chick-snap BOOM chicka-chicka (beat) POW
Underneath the wood, they'd laid down some cardboard to provide just a little cushioning. The wood above flexed and shifted as the dancers pounded out their rhythms.
snick bang chi-chicka BOOM pow (beat) snick slap-chick-boom-chicka
The train came, and I put a dollar in their little translucent red bowl and I got on the train. It rolled through the tunnel a shuddering, rumbling steel leviathan.
snap thud clickCLICK clickCLICK rumble clickCLICK
I heard the echo of those two kids tapping in the swaying of the train.
clickCLICK boom chick-snicka-chicka POW clickCLICK
