We were heading towards the sunset,
from where I was sitting—
I saw the road
dissipate under
the horizon, straight ahead.
No one sat
on the left row,
where the line of windows
stretched with the
darkening sea.
Right,
you could, at least
count a succession
of still signs
and almost feel
that everything
else is moving.
I looked around as if I’d just
woken up, and I said something
to the girl sitting in front of me.
She screamed and lurched and bit
the lady’s neck in front of her.
The lady’s body
shivered and
she shook
awake the man
at her side—
he woke up and starting kicking
the elderly woman in
front at her back, but
the seat was cushioned
so she fell asleep.
A child in her lap stood up
and turned around and—
was spat on.
They did not move,
Through
their wet
sorrowing eyes
I saw that they were
looking at me.
The road curved and the
bus turned right into endless
desert.
My
head leaned
back, my eyes
closed, and
curled and burned
like a bushfire…
Someone behind
me whispered
into
my ear.
The sun—
set somewhere
out of view
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