On the quiet

Poem by Bob Ward

by Bob Ward 27th January 2023

No, not the stasis
  of the railway waiting room,
  people held between arrival
  and hopes for a departure,
  each coddling their isolation
  by nosing deeply in a paper
  or fingering restlessly
  the keypad on their phone,
  wondering why the train runs late
  and whether on this journey
  they’ll be able to get a seat.