ON THE BUSES poetry in motion!
ON THE BUSES!
A JOURNEY IN VERSE
‘14.4.2011, The Mission’
OUTBOUND TO TOWN…
I thought I’d have to pay full fare,
But ‘Greyhound Guy’ was great,
Said he was a little stressed,
Apologised for being late…
Seven passengers on board so far,
I’m listening to the news,
In the back seat , high above all,
Enjoying the distant hill views…
Two ladies in front of me chatting,
Seated opposite each other,
One in thongs & shorts,
The other could be her mother…
A number of houses for sale,
Way up in high south,
A red-head seated down in front,
She has a rather loud mouth…
The girl plays on her ipod,
The mother’s looking flat,
Down the front a bearded man
With a walker and big white hat…
A bumpy ride today,
Two bins tilted on a path,
We enter a forty school zone,
He’s going rather fast!
All the school yards are empty,
It’s Easter holiday time,
No worries about getting the school bus back,
Will be quite, oh how sublime!
Two turtle doves in Kent Street,
An overweight lady jumps on,
Three elderly folk leave the club,
The ‘Run To Paradise’ song…
A hunchback bird in a red wool jumper,
She wears a beautiful brooch,
‘Welcome To Bridge Street’, the big sign says,
As the town we approach…
Ha ha! We nearly ran down a banker,
Walking leisurely with son,
Now we’re stuck in traffic,
The CBD stretch has begun!
The loud mouth, mother and daughter de-mount,
We speed down the hill towards town,
The river is low, it’s almost my stop,
Time to put pen and pad down.
14.4.2011
INBOUND, HOME…
Homeward bound, mission accomplished,
A gentlemanly lad at the stop,
Skateboard & crew-cut, so very polite,
He said, ‘Please, you first,’, on we hopped.
Six on the bus, it’s so quiet,
No school kids making a noise,
No screaming, no fighting, no laughing at all,
And no stinking sweaty young boys…
News on the radio once again,
Must be meant to hear it today,
People look askance when I hold pad & pen,
I look up & then they look away!
The engine sounds sick on the bus,
I’m laughing & think, this is sad!
It’s an old one with red vinyl seats,
The boy has jumped off, oh too bad!
A black man with bushy black beard,
disembarks laden with bags,
An old lady in a black suit hobbles
Down the aisle looking so sad…
A lady pottering in her garden,
Another three houses for sale,
I’m being watched in a reflection,
Blonde with big glasses, skin pale…
Jigging to the sound of ‘Sky Diver’,
My parcels sit by my side,
A blanket, some gesso and a parcel,
I can’t wait to see what’s inside!
© Lady Opine, 2011, excerpt from the On The Buses! poetry series.
