Subway lights fly by on the metal bar ahead of me,
Which demarcates this world from that.
The lights--
Sprightly specters of hope.

The bar is transient--
The sprites exist within it, but never outside of it.
I am enclosed in a tunnel--
The sprites dance about;
My only proof of a world
Outside this train car.

Perhaps.

So noisy
Yet quiet.
There is sound everywhere,
But we are all alone.

Some would rather stand
Than sit next to a stranger.

Most of us choose our phones over interaction.
Scary.
Like the tunnel.

Don't make eye contact.
Stare straight ahead.
If someone sits next to you,
Say nothing.
Make sure your coats don't overlap.
Such a large humanity gap.

Don't make eye contact,
If you do, look away.
If again,
A nod,
To show you're no ******.
Never allow a third time.

A mindless cacophony roars about me.
While I sit in silence.
Watching the lights of this godforsaken
Tunnel.

Silence.
Intimidation.
Fear.
Isolation.

The tunnel is all we know.