This article is part of a poetry series dedicated to every Muni route in San Francisco. You can find the poet, Mc "Mack" Allen, on twitter at @that_mc.
California Cable Car
A slot in the street conceals
a swift, hidden current, the steel wire
which draws the car eastward;
though it does not change compass bearing
the car turns a corner as it passes
the spires of Grace Cathedral.
A bell rings twice
and then the street drops away
into the thicket of skyscrapers
that shoulder each other apart
Glass and steel and stone that
frame a silver-iron lattice;
towering pylon
suspending cables
above San Francisco Bay.