The bus pulled up and I got on

It was empty, 'cept for two

A lady sitting at the front

And a man all dressed in blue

The lady sat in front alone

Her parcels by her side

The man, he stood alone in back

And I got on for my ride.

The sign in front said "Do Not Smoke"

Capacity...that's blurry

I couldn't see it from where I sat

But, I was in no hurry

I walked on up, to check it out

And read the aged old sign

It said "seating room is 63"

And standing ...twenty nine

I reached my stop and I got off

Not thinking much I guess.

But that man was still way in the back

And that lady in her dress

Was motionless up in the front,

Her parcel by her side

They hadn't moved since I got on

And it was an hour ride

Others joined us on the bus

But all were gone before

There was just these two,  still motionless

When I walked out the door.

Each day for weeks I rode this bus

And each day,  like before

The lady sat down front alone

And the man, behind the door

It never made much sense to me

He never changed his spot

It was if he were a sentinel

To guard this bus...his lot

One day I asked the driver

Why he never did sit down

He said "You must be new here"

"You can't be from this town"

I said "Why did that matter?"

He just laughed and looked at me

"It's never gonna change here"

"There's a certain courtesy"

I didn't understand him

And he never put forth more

So, I went on down the bus aways

And I sat  just by the door

I passed my stop and rode a while

While others filtered through

Then all at once the lady rose

Followed by the man in blue

She left out front, him through the back

And it left me there alone

Well, except for the old driver

So, I rode around to home

I saw as we drove past them

On our return route down the Strand

The lady and The Man in Blue

Were walking, holding hands

I thought "What gives?, they sit apart"

She forward, him in back

Now here they are together

They're a train on the same track

I asked the driver to explain

This sight that I had seen

He said "Just wait a minute"

"And it won't seem so extreme"

He stopped the bus and came to me

And he walked past the back door

"See that faded line there miss"

As he pointed to the floor

I looked real close and there it was

It was a line in pastel blue

"Now, listen here's some history"

"This is something new to you"

"Way back when, a lifetime back"

"Segregation ruled the land"

"You didn't mix outside your race"

"You would never understand"

"The line there on the floor shows"

"Where the buses made their mark"

"The white folks stood on the drivers side"

"And the back was for the dark"

"skinned folks who rode with us"

"I know it don't sound fair"

"But that's the wasy it was back then"

"I know, 'cause I was there"

"This couple...they confuse you"

"Her in front and him in back"

"Did you ever stop and notice"

"She is white and he is black?"

"But, that's not the way things are today"

I said, still unsure of these two

He said "I know, my dear"

"But this way's all they knew"

"They've been a pair for twenty years"

"They've rode this bus for more"

"When he first rode, it was so bad"

"He came through the back door"

"He couldn't get on through the front"

"They wouldn't let him pass"

"In fact once some one threatened"

"him, they would soak him down with gas"

"So he went on back, through the back door"

"And then he crossed that line"

"And he's been doing so for sixty years"

"He's done it all this time"

"I never charge them to get on"

"I charge them when they leave"

I said "I don't see them pay"

He smiled and scratched his sleeve

"I never charge them money"

"No, that just would not be right"

"I tell them to just get safe home"

"And  to have a lovely night"

"The next day when they board the bus"

"She smiles and looks at me"

"And as I look down to the back"

"I smile...and so does he"

"I know that it is different"

"But down here, it was the way"

"And this white girl and this black man"

"helped to show me shades of grey"

"He'll always ride in back there"

"And she'll be in front with me"

"But, you know that they're so happy"

"And that's why they ride for free"

I was in a ****** bar,
Or public house,
Being threatened,
For something I’d done.
Darting furiously…
Through city streets,
Running, running,
For something I’d done.
My companion hailed,
And stopped a bus,
Its metal doors flew open,
For something I’d done.
Had to get to them,
Had to get through them,
Under furious pursuance,
For something I’d done.

Tin can busses fill rapidly,
Stop.
And bleed like tuna.

Yehudit likes
the new boy
on the bus
she smiled has

he got on and
watched him walk
to the back
of the school bus

and sit in
a side seat
now she sits
at the front

of the bus
thinking about him
now and then
she looks back

over her shoulder
but he's looking out
the window
not at her

so she looks
forward again
musing on
what his name maybe

and whether he'll
be the type
she wants or likes
he looks good

the quiff of brown hair
the hazel eyes
-she gawked him good
as he got on board-

and he had that
Elvis smile
-feels goosebumps-
she thrusts her hands

between her thighs
and smiles to herself
in anticipation
scenery goes by

trees
hedges
fields
cows in the field

telegraph poles
birds in flight
in the sky
but all she

can think on is
what is his name?
and wondering
if he is looking

at her now
but she guesses
not somehow.

Hissing hydraulic brakes
your face
          was hiding.
April wind was howling.
Empty streets at 6 a.m.
A song of dust in squinting eyes.
You hunched your shoulders,
pulled your hood back,
smiled sunrise. Bus doors closed.

We'd always leak away
and trace these city limit lines
'til the night bled into day.
Bend footsteps back t'ward sunburnt lines
          that cross the map
          of the town we lived in
for all these sun-seared years.
Sat South of love and East of friendship,
but we feared nothin'!
Yeah, we were pirates,
          with smoke mouthed muskets
in hand. With full sails. And bold grins
          inscribed across each face.

And, back here, I still roll
through days
          on waves of
Autumn wind and memory.
Empty streets at 3 a.m.
Walk with our ghosts; still haunt this town.
You took your chances,
and a Greyhound
just past sunset--headed West.

We'd always leak away,
drive out past city limit lines.
And we'd drive until the day-
light bent rays back to eyes' red lines
          that crossed the map
          of the talks we'd lived in
for all those wondering years,
West of white lies and North of silence.
Guess we feared something.
But, now, what was it?
          And, now, where are you?
Out West with full sails and clear eyes
          inside a sunset face?

Too young for marriage
too old to stay with mom & dad.
But she hopped a bus following him West
and gave up all she had.

Skinny dipping in the salty sea
Infatuation in a rusty car
Plaid shirts and promises,
he was a thief that stole her heart

He gave her two babies
but she always felt alone,
between those wood paneling walls
his explosive temper was shown.

Beer bottles and ashtrays.
Tumbleweeds and sand.
Black, blue, and purple
painted by his hand.

So weak for so long,
she would cower in fear
Until she saw her children's faces,
filled with confusion and stained from tears

She left with just the clothes on her back
and two babies clinging to her hand
following the sunrise in the East
going home to mom & dad.

There was snow
right up to
the doorstep

ankle deep
even the
Downs had snow

still be school
Mother said
the school bus

will get through
-what a bore
I had thought-

and it did
right outside
the blue bus

so we got
on the bus
and it drove

through the snow
Jane was there
looking cold

by a side
window seat
I sat there

next to her
how are you?
feeling cold

she told me
yes me too
I replied

few flowers
to look at
everything

is covered
in this snow
she told me

but it was
good being
next to her

that perfume
of apples
her dark hair

and dark eyes
and her hand
holding mine

out of sight
gently so
on that bus

in the snow.

I stand waiting for a bus.
Two women are next to me,
They're dreaming of good luck.
One asks the other
"Do you think it'll ever be?
Do you think I'll ever be happy?
Now that she's left me?"
A sister, a mother, a lover?
Who's to know.
But the pain in her voice is raw-
She can't have left long ago.
The wind causes my hair to spiral
And I flatten it in haste.
But the women don't seem to care-
No they don't want to waste
Any energy on themselves.
The other talks of her child:
A girl of almost three.
She speaks with such love,
Such joy but such woe:
She is worried her father will take her
Away from her home.
The bus pulls up and I mount it-
To me it's just a bus,
But to them its wonderful wheels,
Will take them to good luck.