Ferlinghetti writes about two sets of people, the garbage men and the people in the Mercedes. In the poem they both meet at red traffic lights where they are equal. Ferlinghetti feels that organically, they are similar but there is a substantial difference between them and most importantly economic wise as well as social wise. Nevertheless, the garbage men stare at the young couple 'as from a great distance' (line 27). They are actually close together, stuck at the red light. This perhaps suggests the 'distance' between the lives each pair lead.
Ferlinghetti uses the shape of the poem to express his view. He does this by making the poem's structure is fairly free. Ferlinghetti doesn't use punctuation; instead, he begins a new line when he wants us to pause whilst we are reading. This slows the poem down and gives us time to appreciate each idea.
Ferlinghetti uses other idea and feelings to reveal himself such that for the dustmen, looking at the couple is the same as 'watching some odourless TV ad' (line 29) - the ways of life portrayed seem impossibly perfect. To the garbage men, the couples are almost unreal and their lifestyle is out of reach.
The closing lines of the poem involve a metaphor about the sea. If America is the high seas, the distance between the two vehicles is a 'small gulf' (line 35) or narrow mouth that should be easy to cross. Yet we also think of the other meaning of gulf - a deep chasm or abyss. It may look possible to cross, but really it is impossible. The lives of the two pairs may cross 'for an instant' (line 31), but they will never be genuinely close together.
In conclusion the descriptions of the four people are very visual, making it easy to imagine the scene. Appearances tell us a lot. The rich couple are very fashionable: he has an expensive’ hip three-piece linen suit'(line 11) while her blond hair is 'casually coifed' (line 13). On the other hand, the garbage men are grungy (line 17). The younger one has sunglasses & long hair (line 24) just like the Mercedes driver, which forces us to compare the two. The poem is written in the present tense. This gives a sense of immediacy - we feel that the poem is happening now. From a wider perspective, it also suggests that the huge gap between rich and poor is a problem now, too. The language is modern, simple and sometimes colloquial (eg, 'cool couple'). There are short cuts - & is used instead of 'and' (lines 12 and 24).
