The Man in Turquoise Boxers

Some in the crowd screamed out, Don't jump.
Others screamed, Jump.
The man on the ledge of the Forever 21 building
looked down in fear.
One man yelled, Do a flip!
So the man did
and ended up face first on the
sidewalk below with his head splattered
all around in a halo of blood.
Soon the blood started pouring profusely
causing many to back away
and others to step forward.
People started screaming.
A young Japanese woman started crying.
Everybody's lives stopped in that moment
and became entangled in that dead
man's final act.
Nobody could talk about anything else.
They had to take out their cell phones
and start calling their
grandmothers,
their husbands and wives,
their coworkers,
their best friends,
and eventually, everyone who
wasn't on their knees crying
was either talking about it or
on their iPhones
tweeting -- I just saw a man
commit suicide.
One even took a picture of the dead
man splattered on the pavement
maybe to update his blog.
Another man screamed at him,
What the Fuck is wrong with you?
The police came and ambulances took
the body away.
No note or ID was found on
the carcass.
But nobody who was there
would forget him.
Even when they are at a party
enjoying themselves years from now they may
think of that man with the
splattered face
on the pavement in front of them,
and they will
only shudder and try to block
him out of their lives.