"Disrupted Train Of Thought"

Monday morning
Same old, same old.
Usual train to work
Give or take
Depending on wake up time
Surrey Docks in the middle
Canada Water front carriage.
Such is the variety
Doing the commute
South-East London style.
Standing room only
As per usual
But ‘nice’ spot
By the other door
Luxury, handrail spot
To grab hold of
Over bumps and harsh brakes.
There he is
The man I haven’t noticed
But he’s clocked me;
Tall, fancy headphones,
With a cool bald head
In a cool way that only
A black man’s shiny dome
Can be classed as cool.
Smart shirt, pin striped strides
And pristine polished shoes.
Here it comes…
Just after Forest Hill
“Excuse me, what school did you go to?”
I don’t remember him
But he does me.
I don’t like to ask
How I stick in the mind
Not sure I want to know
My schooldays were not
Entirely angelic
Certainly not normal.
Same old, same old.
He looks young
But just a year behind.
Clearly his life has not been
As hard as mine.
But I ask none of this
Not even his name
But he knows mine
After thirty years and more!
Have I been past there recently?
It’s changed
So much built on.
I must go and be nosey, I say.
Small talk.
He was in Rigby
And he remembers
I was a Jones House boy.
Time for conversation to end.
So much more I wanted to ask
But didn’t want to embarrass myself
What was I thinking of?
Talking to a stranger on the train?
Silence after Brockley
Left in my thoughts
Who on earth were you?
And how bad was I
For me to be in your head
Three decades later?
Some questions are best left
Unanswered.

 

Dulwich Poet 29^th July 2013

 

( On the train into work today a stranger recognised me from my secondary schooldays, over thirty years ago! )