#publictransport
grey textile, rocky roads
delectable in locomotion
mechanical reshuffling
human trenches
herds obscuring
worldviews
and the bus that drags on
breath of trepidation
heatwave of monoxides
grey and wool
thicket of sorrows, unfulfilled
dreams, blanket of
undying sleep
a bus bell,
signalling
the stop. bus
stopping
Jan 21, 2024
Jan 21, 2024 at 4:54 AM UTC
I sit with intravenous headphones
a dopamine drip
my dress pants are torn at the inner knee
my hair smells of yeast
my face itches
my eyes wander
we screech to a halt
and it hisses like a feral cat
the platform then filled with bodies
that funnel in
shuffling
bright as the undead
one seat from me
he's balding
and in the absense of hair, scabs
polka dotted,
uneavendly.
He barks to a younger man about his dog
but the younger man just stares straight forward
In the disabled seating, sits
a woman
who is not pregnant
or crippled
or elderly
her toenails are a browny-yellow, and curled like the petals of an uprooted daffodil
her breath is audible, from the tenth row back
even over the bald man
even over the chugging motor
At the front
a boy sits with his older brother -
who points at pictures in a tattered laminate book
and grunts
yes
and makes sounds
yes, thats right, bus
and groans
it's okay, you'll see mum soon
in discomfort,
snot seeping from his nose, spit
falling to the floor
Again, we screech to a halt
the alley cat hisses
only one at this platform
Her hair is neck length
her slip is long, silky and sky-blue
as are her eyes
fingers fiddle at the purse
pursed lipped, she smiles
... at the bus driver
Her boots sound the isle
they watch like its a runway
finding her way
Next to the boy
with the greasy hair
and the torn pants
and the sauce stained uniform
and the wandering eyes
and the inability to start a conversation
and she sits
and they sit
Mar 1, 2020
Mar 1, 2020 at 11:03 AM UTC
oh, how the boys try to impress the girls
with their kickflips and the slam of the wheels
oh, how they skate and the noise that they make
the teenagers at the bus stop — a public mistake
oh, how they'll shout at the top of their lungs
on this public transport — i am the alpha
testosterone takes charge, oh how the confidence of boys
creates the environment of irritated discomfort
oh, how the ridiculousness of teen boys provides
entertainment when we forgive their misogynist vibes
and bad behaviour — we will say boys will be boys
"i'll have *** with your sister" — the conversation they employ
and oh, how they will fare evade — but hey, so will i
i wish i had their confidence at certain times
and how i wish my teen years were filled with much more fun
if i was less dysphoric and more proud of myself
and when they leave the bus a peace is then regained
the energy they took with them; a calm it creates
Jan 17, 2020
Jan 17, 2020 at 7:39 AM UTC
Ever see someone on a bus,
On a train,
Or in a park?
And they smile,
Or tuck their hair behind an ear,
Laugh,
Or even quietly frown.
Ever see someone in public,
And picture a life?
Envision a fleeting world where you swallow fear,
And smile?
Ever catch a glimpse of a life you could live?
Aug 15, 2018
Aug 15, 2018 at 3:00 PM UTC