Day Rider

Strenuous day at work
Tedious day at college
Now for the highlight of my day

The sardine tin on wheels,
transporting me from A to B.

Complete with a resentful old man
glued to the wheel
trapped in his suffocating box,
preventing himself from intruding on society.

Taking the money.
Printing the tickets.
Taking more money.
Printing more tickets.

The script
tattooed on all the brains of our beloved bus drivers
comes into play the moment i approach the automatic doors.
Almost as hard and transparent as the prisoner controlling them.

Is that a single?
Is that a return?
Do you have the exact change?
Let's see your bus pass
Grunt.

If the bus driver has had more then one cup of coffee
he will occasionally bellow
'MOVE TO THE BACK OF THE BUS!'

Infront of me, a hooded enigma
fails to demonstrate basic manners towards a senior citizen.
As senior as they come.

Impaired hearing allows the old people
to think they are muttering silently.

''would never see that in my day!"
"oh i know love, I know. It's beyond me."
And so the generation gap continues to grow.

The stop button brings an end to my journey
leaving me to wonder, what tomorrows sardine tin trip
based on strangers and glances,
is going to bring.

And whether I preserve the innocence to get away with a child's fare.