Watch The Closing Doors

Seconds away from the conductor
closing the train door she walks in,
squeezing between the closing doors
clumsily carrying way too many bags.

Like everyone else on the morning ride
I lose my grip goose-necking to get
my view of this stark interruption.

There is a murmur because she ain't dressed right
and in the eyes of the regular riders
she got way too much stuff


She ain't never rode this train before, and we all know that.

She does everything wrong:

Stands in the door blocking folks
getting on and off the way they want

Not holding on to the handrails
while the train jerks

Putting her bags in plain view,
not willing to place them in the overhead...

Didn't have exact cash to cover the ticket
and she wanted to go
all the way to the end of the line


I'm still looking and I am impressed.


Flattered that she smiled at me
as she rode with the world
peering over her shoulder

Impressed that she came over to me
and finally said something after a few stops

No longer blocking the doorways
she finally sat down just making herself comfortable
and putting her carry-ons all over the seat
blocking me in like I'm riding to wherever her destination is

She didn't even ask.

All that conversation, all the banter
and getting to know yous.

The comfort of making speak
warm and fuzzy not even realizing
that the usual watching of familiar
objects gone by has been ignored
and totally forgotten because
this new habit of talk feels damn good.

And I usually disappear under my headphones

Wait, I missed my stop!

But then again I've never been this far.

I grab the attention of the conductor
as he makes his walk through
to purchase an extension on my ticket

I guess we are getting off at the same stop
I don't want to miss another word in this conversation.

All I saw was some awkward woman
disrupting everyone else's train ride
clumsily scattering luggage about
and I wanted to get to know who does such a thing...


And to think I didn't even ask her name, but we're riding to the end of the line

Picture that for your morning train ride.

2006 Hassan Ntimbanjayo