The train stopped

And lulled, momentarily

By foreign voices whose origin I could not fathom

I slipped into a daydream

When, awoken by that realisation - an awareness of time

The train remained still - I looked for a sign - Mauldeth Road

Then saw the erratic, bobbing head of a magpie

And felt the inevitable curse

And thought of Andrea at the hospice

And Mam, she hates them... hated them

Especially near the end when they gathered on the roof

Across the road as if waiting - expectant


The voices fell silent

The bird was gone

I looked for him - I'd already assigned him a male sex

Then thought it odd how we ascribe malevolence to animals

And smiled when he emerged and skipped

Comically

Across

The

Path

Then stopped at a wall

And I looked up and saw the tag - ‘TOMB’


The voices resumed

The train moved on

*

Steve Hunt’s website