LONELY TRAFFIC LIGHTS

a traffic light that's functional only when no one is near by

I was heading back home from the floor late on a foggy and drizzling night alone on my bike. Under the manhattan bridge, I heard the train howling and fleeting away from the chaos it left behind. In contrast, the road was still and tranquil with only a few white plastic bags running alongside the rats. I stopped on the south end of the bridge because I saw the red gloom on the traffic light standing in the middle of the road piercing through the milky air. As the only person present, I obeyed the order that the lonely light painstakingly hoped to maintain not out of obedience but appreciation and pity.

I am emphasizing the moment of the traffic light maintaining the order even when there are no participants by creating a traffic light that only lights up when people are far away and dims when people come close. The lonely traffic light meant to ask questions about gazes, absences, and the relationship between participants and order. Though there might not be an answer, I am approaching the suspension with an existential philosophy hoping my piece is on the journey of finding the meaning.