Lethe

The train silently gliding into the station
The crisp morning air
The tired faces of the waiting workers
The stale taste of my morning’s first cigarette
Board
Shall I read?
No, look
Two gorgeous girls sit opposite
Sunlight strafing their hair
I sit and watch
Their cloistered conversation
Laughter and smiles

The train glides through suburban scenes
Houses
Shops
Banks of green flash by
Brilliant green under a soft felt sky
Station after station
Victorian red
Green to grey
Highways
Congestion
The final stop
Crowded exits
Vivid skirts ablur
The husky roar of a whistle somewhere

Pacing through the city
Footsteps in tune
Faces upon faces
Real and unreal
People
Mannequins
Photographs
The white arcade with its hollow echo
And escalators
The smell of freshly-baked bread
Movie ads
Fixed faces hurrying to the office
The Cathedral
Flashes of sunlight through stained glass
The ancient stone wall and its abundant garden

Walk on
Cross over
Amber light

My building
Enter the foyer
Queue at the lift
Other people come
We board together
The doors close
We rise and stop
The doors open
Two secretaries alight and turn left
The doors close
We rise and stop
The doors open
A solitary man in a bland suit
Alights and turns left
The doors close
We rise and stop
The doors open
A young woman
Blushing still from the crisp air
Alights and turns left
The doors close
We rise and stop
The doors open
I alight and turn left
Walk to the time clock
Punch in

 

© Ian Lilburne 1978