In The Tube

In The Tube

Overground, Underground,
Chatter and clatter,
Sky, high,
Dark, stark,
Lumbering, thundering
to a hundred destinations,
Lurching, searching
on the District Line,
Another platform, another stop,
People out, people in,
Zombies, sluggish early,
Swaying carriages,
A few might lunch at Claridges
(Most will eat a Wimpey),
On and on,
Train clutters past
dank semi-detached,
(nowhere a cottage, thatched),
Limp washing on plastic cord
in backyards, bored,
Pale, chill sun,
Riders all as one,
Journey ends, one begins,
The Piccadilly Line,
The Tube burrowing like
a glow worm into black,
Frightful clickity-clack,
Deeper, deeper,
Silky bellow into stations,
Passengers gorged, disgorged
in the crowded feast,
Echo and pandemonium in
garish, artificial light,
(Standing room only,
Hold on tight!),
Next stop in the loop,
(The Circle Line?)
Every day they fly the coop,
This morning’s just begun,
Overground and Underground,
Oh, what fun!
Electrification, specification,
Crackle and spark,
All change, please!
Green Park -
Metropolitan Line, Jubilee,
Victoria, Bakerloo,
To name a few,
And the Northern, Central,
And Hammersmith, and City,
Dammit, missed connection,
What a pity!

© Michael Garrad May 2011