A girl crying
On a train.
Me trying
To restrain
The human inclination to say
“Are you okay?”
But what right have I
To intrude on a girl who does cry?
My dog noses
Her.
I swear
His compassion exposes
The British reserve
In me.
As I swerve
Aside, and let her be.
The disquiet
Of quiet.
Turn up the sound
And drown
Out the bird
Whose song
Before long
Will stab you to the heart
Causing tears to start.
I, for my part
Listen
Though the tears glisten.
I become a child, for a while
Without guile,
Smile
And yearn to be free
Of me.
Sometimes words die on lips
And cruelty strips
Away
The light of day.
Only the rain
And pain
remain.
K Morris - Poet 