On another difficult day for the world, my poem ‘Bus Stop Etiquette’ was published by Ink, Sweat & Tears, one of my favourite sites. Thank you Helen Ivory.

Bus Stop Etiquette

We roll up piecemeal, shuffled rush-hour
pack in all weathers; fix envious glares
into underoccupied kerbcrawl cars
blaring rock, pop, classical, duh-duh-duh
dance and dumbass ads. It’s Britain

so we queue; eyecontactless, heads bowed
into mobiles like bibles among eavesdroppers
alert for you’ll never guess news; so I turned 
round & said braggadocio, grandparent
gloats, death and health-obsessed drama.

One eye out for the 432, the other on gatecrashers
lurking to gazump our too-shocked-to-say
chorus line; its well-rehearsed lean to the left,
arms outstretched in synchrony, body language
as one chanting thou shalt not pass.