even surcharges are no incentives
I wrote this nonsense for NaPoWriMo 2013. I think no one read this piece of crap yet.
There was a time I was recalled back to work in the dead of night pretty frequently. Ah, the nightmares!
photo by dsnake1
even surcharges are no incentives
it's 5 a.m. +
a cold, lonely strip of road
and all i am thinking is home.
but the taxis won't stop.
the drivers see
a single male
with a bag
and just speed on.
perhaps it was the bag.
after the 4th
uncooperative cab or so,
the first bus of the day comes,
it's headlights flaring.
it stops
when flagged.
the driver
is sullen,
a couple of passengers
laid in the seats
like dead fishes.
but really it's okay.
13/04/2013
**********
The original title of this piece was "early morning transport" but I thought it was a lousy title.
"and when the driver cracked a joke
about the government
the three of us laughed again
in the middle of the night."
-- dsnake1, night takes.
Shared on Poetry Pantry #242 at Poets United.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2015
There was a time I was recalled back to work in the dead of night pretty frequently. Ah, the nightmares!
even surcharges are no incentives
it's 5 a.m. +
a cold, lonely strip of road
and all i am thinking is home.
but the taxis won't stop.
the drivers see
a single male
with a bag
and just speed on.
perhaps it was the bag.
after the 4th
uncooperative cab or so,
the first bus of the day comes,
it's headlights flaring.
it stops
when flagged.
the driver
is sullen,
a couple of passengers
laid in the seats
like dead fishes.
but really it's okay.
13/04/2013
**********
The original title of this piece was "early morning transport" but I thought it was a lousy title.
"and when the driver cracked a joke
about the government
the three of us laughed again
in the middle of the night."
-- dsnake1, night takes.
Shared on Poetry Pantry #242 at Poets United.
© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2015
posted by dsnake1 at 11:28 PM
16 Comments:
Glad you finally found a way home...Sad about the taxi drivers being distrusting!
i have been there...i used to get calls all the time...and they always seemed near midnite carrying over into the morning...no one else out except the shadows...
Like dead fiehes, I love that!
This is definitely NOT a piece of crap, but a really good introspective poem that took me with you on the journey.
The home-going worker and early-morning worker not too happy with their jobs, LOL. Love the description of the bus sleepers "like dead fishes".
oh the imagery of the passengers like dead fishes made me a little disturbed at first. I also like the question of the bag.. to me this could almost be the start of a detective story..
It is quite different to experience life around us so early in the morning especially after working nights....a whole other world....and maybe sometimes preferred except for the taxis not stopping.
i can relate to this one. like being a zombie and you wanted to sleep on the road because of frustration lol
Mary,
maybe i have had myself to blame... :(
Brian,
yes, only those who have worked through the night knows how it feels. :(
Jannie,
when i first posted this NaPoWriMo attempt, i thought it was a light, frivolous piece. i guess such poems have their place too. :)
thanks for visiting!
Sherry,
:D
it's a wonder the bus driver did not fall asleep too. :D
Bjorn,
more like a crime story.
on retrospect, it must be the bag that scares the cab drivers at that hour.
Donna,
yes, it can be a whole other world. utterly alien, unlike what one sees during the day.
totomai,
if you had worked nights, you will know what it is like. a zombie is a good likeness. :D
WHile service people protect themselves from crazies, innocent working people are caught up in exhausting inconveniences. Thank God for your sense of humor/irony--and for a place that the dead fishes can lie down.
I think it's very evocative of the atmosphere at that time of day.
Susan,
:)
i think service people deserves much more credit for what they are doing.
thankfully, such late night/early morning work are getting rare.
Rosemary,
you have been up at these unearthly hours too? :)
Had encountered my fair share of choosey taxi drivers.
I kinda of think of zombies as I read to the end of it. I think there's sort of (unintentional) side theme towards that.
Interesting piece; I think it's one of those poems that develop as you let it sit and revisit time and again. :)
You didn't say what's in the bag. (!!!)
;)
have you come across the driver who wind down the window and ask you where you are going, and if you mention a ulu place, they will give an excuse for not taking you? i think the situation has improved much lately, maybe there're more cabs on the road, and that's competition!
and at that time i mentioned, they could be on their way for a coffee before handing over to the morning shift. then again, i may be looking like a risk. :D
what's in the bag? a PSP, book, pen, security pass, mobile, lucky charms. :)
is it started yet?
what powerful write.
http://promisingpoetsparkinglot.blogspot.com/2015/03/poets-rally-week-81-perfect-poet-award.html
check out an award from poetry rally today, take it to your blog,
nominate one poet you know for week82, and have fun.
keep posting.
lovely blog.
Hi Pat,
what's started? :)
thanks for dropping by.
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