Poems of the Underground

Summoning something to Transport for London

i.
They say you’re never less
than six foot clear 
of a foetid rat down here.


ii.
Finsbury Park backwards:
Krapy rub snif.


iii.
They have so very few tubes stops, 
it makes me shudder, this is why
I could never live south of the River.


iv.
You call that busking? My ears are bleeding.
Yeh mate, I’ll spare you some change 
just to stop you from singing.


v.
Would you like to sit down?
When are you due?
A head shake, a scowl, 
and a muttered “ untrue… ”

vi.
Angel Islington has the longest escalator.
Leave an extra five minutes
for that thing you mustn’t be late for


vii.
Stuck tube stupor,
been a load quicker
to have ordered an Uber


viii.
Going underground now,
gonna lose reception,
entering the tunnel, 
sure to drop connecti…


ix.
Let me off first,
stand clear of the opening doors.
Don’t push me back inside,
let me get to those Oxford Street’s stores.


x.
When someone stands to
Offer me their seat,
this will be my final underground trip,
the one before I must leave.

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London Underground ( AKA the Tube ) pics from 2021-2023 Nikon d750

A couple of notes:

Finsbury Park is a station in North London on the Victoria and Piccadilly lines and was where I first lived when I moved to London.

Angel Islington is on the Northern Line and used to be ( so I was always told ) the most dangerous station on the whole network before it was upgraded from a single platform. The escalator is 200 feet long, the longest on the network and also the longest in the UK.

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