Metro

Underground we visit strange places.

Yellow flowers in Amsterdam -
bright bunches for sale in a grey tunnel

Roman artefacts in deep cave
where Stockholm Tunnelbana travel
to blocks of flats in pine forests -
how we got there no one knows -
signposts to bibliotek and volkspark.

In London and Paris you need only see what you want to see,
and if you get lost
there will always be a metro station nearby
to take you somewhere you've heard of before -

easier to get lost underground in London where you need directions
north south, clockwise anti-clockwise
than in Paris where the destination end
tells you where you are going
and the signs are written
large and dark blue
on white tiles

and the murals -
O the murals -
at the gare Abbesses -
birch trees and snow
and the faint blush
of spring approaching.

Margaret Fensom

visit Margaret Fensom's page