SENSE AND NONSENSE

A GREYHOUND BUS TRIP AT NIGHT

My back aches
and
my knees quake
If only I was shorter
or thinner.

We cannot sleep
on the bus
Some grey-haired ladies
are telling stories
Interesting stories
about magpies
picking at the eyes
of pigs
and chickens

A baby cries
A young mother moves
up front
It is warmer there
than at the rear
of the bus

The driver says it used to be
too warm
on the bus
Someone fixed the thermostat
and now it is
too cold

The driver and the young mother
talk
They talk about love and life
and death and strife
They talk about
sex
What a thing to discuss
on the bus

They talk and the snow
falls
The driver says the road is like
ice-cream
His headlights are on low beam
Who can sleep on the bus?
Not us…