Saturday, 30 July 2016

Grace in the time of train strikes

Very nice Nice
should have been
instead sadness
shrouded by mourning
lives lost
to mad tragedy.
Grief's solemn stretch
scattered with so much remembrance.

French Nice to Italian Genoa
should of been simple
instead adventure
of a national rail strike.
No trains into Italy
except one leaving shortly.

Emergency plan ensued
fastest pack ever
hotel to station
a furious run
luggage flying
out of any thieves reach.

First train grasped
gasping for breath.
Chaos in Genoa.
Confused travelers
snaked seeking information.
Departure boards
signaled wide spread disruption.
A cheery recording repeating
sorry for the inconvenience.

A patient official
seemed genuinely surprised
our next train
was scheduled still
floating alone
in a cancellation sea.

Our time by the glorious coast
beckoned us
as we traveled onward
into night fall
by the grace of God.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Confused travelers snaked seeking information. Very nice. That's very much how I have felt walking around Indian railway stations trying to find information - but there everyone else seems to know exactly what is happening. I can imagine in the crisis you were in everyone snaking around looking at notice boards and knocking on windows and doors and peeking into ticket offices and staring at screens trying to find exactly what is happening.
Enjoyed the poem a lot. Tension and chaos!