The driver of this bus is young. He is feeling
every bump
for the man behind him
who tries not to cry out
and fails.
So the driver
slows
right
down
grips the wheel
as if he'd
lift us
over
the
bumps
skirt
round them
but
traffic is bad,
St. Albans Road
endless, and this
is a white knuckle ride
of a different kind.
The man's pain
unravels him. Each time
he cries
we echo it.
We can't help it.
He will not stop apologising.
By the time he gets off
at the flats by the crossings
we wish
he'd never
got on.
©Rosie Garner
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