Diagnosis

On a train from Fairfield to Grand Central Station, I sat alone and looked out the window. Four people in the seat across the aisle from me conversed in Spanish, and my attention drifted from the scenery to the conversation and back again. I found myself listening to the rhythm of their dialogue and understanding an occasional word. First I recognized corazon , a beautiful word that means "heart" in English.  A moment later I heard blanco - white. Then just a minute after that I caught flaco - which means skinny or thin.

My heart is white and thin...