Sunday, June 18, 2017

What am I doing...


Makati, Philippines:
What am I doing on this Japan-made train?
Watching people in business wear.
They rush in and out at every stop,
Trying to beat time and get to the slippery top.

Bucharest, Romania:
What am I doing on this midnight train?
Sitting next to a local lady in black
Her thickly-painted face creases
With the chewing beat of her gum.

She reads a book in her lap; I, my Blue Planet guide
Her fishnet-stockinged legs cross and uncross
As her German boyfriend waits at the station.
She says I shouldn’t trust their taxi drivers
And insists to drop me off at my hotel.

Manhattan, NY:
What am I doing on this squeaky crowded train?
Staring at after-work angry faces lined with pain.
Tired of their daily grind and endless climb
Searching for something they can't seem to find.

A young couple stands like tangled snakes
French kissing like running out of summer Slurpees
Oblivious to everyone’s delight, disgust or horror
Not a care on board this sweaty, steamy, bumpy ride
Just the electrifying adolescent love or lust

Calgary, Alberta:
What am I doing on this Stampede train?
Admiring hopeful faces of all descents
European, Asian, African… in this oil county
Ready to line up for free pancake and sausage breakfast.

What am I doing on this train, I can never tell
But I’d better get off into this chilly Alberta rain
And stomp my cowboy boots on the street puddles of summer.
Uh-oh! My antiquated Parisian boots are taking in water
Reminding me to get a job, cutting short my wandering...
Jamison/07/02/08; 05/20/2017; Philippines

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