ASYLUM
Mind the gap
Knots of people shuffle forward,
harassed workers, eager lovers, tired parents with hungry kids.
A throng of England's glory, hoping for a seat.
Half a carriage down, a woman,
you can spot her by her headscarf absurdly bright with flowers.
She's screaming something foreign in a language every mother knows.
There's pushing at the weight of closing doors.
"Here mind your shoving mate, you're not in bloody Kabul now"
as weary traveler's turn to watch another scene in a real-life soap.
And there outside, amid the crowd
of legs, umbrellas, and Tesco's bags,
a boy stands, stranded, crying, seeking only home.
We sit as passengers looking down, as our train rolls stately on.
Will you be the one amongst us to stand up first and act,
and stop this train right now, right here, in its tracks?
We apologise for any inconvenience caused to your journey here today.
David Archer 2003

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