Pylons come
Pylons go
The world is electric
I am surrounded by cables and wires
The debris of power
Power corrupts I once heard
This thought passes through my mind
As I look at the summer clouds
High above my stationary train
Do they fear the night I ask?
As many do
20.59
21.00
21.01
21.02
21.03
The overhead clock is the only thing that moves in my carriage
21.04
21.05
21.06
21.07
21.08
I look at the sky again
It is a symphony of grey
Pink
And Sapphire Blue
Unusual but not rare
In the Kent cottages
Lights blaze from the open windows
Mr Phipps is in the bath
After all is Thursday
His wife of many years
Stares at my train
She longs for release
This I cannot share
For I too am imprisoned
She is aware of this and closes her curtains
Another small death passes unnoticed
I have seen many in my travels
Suddenly the train moves
The lights flicker
21.13
My lucky number is seven
It never lets me down
We pick up speed
Margate is getting nearer
You wait me in our flat
Above the shop of curiosities
You are listening to the radio
And are advised that the
19.20
St Pancras to Margate
Has suffered a delay
Due to a sheet of plastic
That has tangled itself
In the overhead wires
Near the Dartford Bridge
Safety is everything
You are told
You can replace time
Time replaces time
Safety is everything
Night has arrived
We share its absurdities
Ashford International
Canterbury West
Ramsgate
All change at Ramsgate
We are going no further
As the driver needs to be in London
By 11 o’clock
To take charge of the final train of the day
St Pancras to Margate
I am promised a taxi
And wait in the great hall
At Ramsgate Station
For half an hour
Confusion reigns
But is resolved
As confusion normally is
I sit quietly in the back of a rather large car
The driver is from the Maghreb
And does not try to make conversation
You are asleep when I reach our flat
There is Dinner Jazz on the radio
I do not disturb you
After showering I look out of our best window
I can see the sea and the mysterious lights distant
Can they see the windows of our small flat?
With its purple curtains and orange lights
Do they know that I was heavily delayed?
By a sheet of plastic
That compromised the power
And the glory
Of my magnificent train
Do they care as they watch the final moments
Of the dying fish
My thoughts are interrupted
You are awake
Poor you
Would you like a cup of tea?
No I am drunk on coffee
Purchased on the train
We go to bed
You lay in my arms
We have extinguished the lights
Only the digital clock reigns
1.11
1.12
1.13
My eyes grow heavy but in the distance I hear a train
Its pantographs arc against the damp wires
A misty rain has descended
I think of the electricity surging through those wires
Trains come
Trains go
The world is electric
Even your body is electric
I can sense your electric dreams
1.19
1.20
1.21
1.22
1.23
1.24
1.2
1.
1