GIRL ON A TRAIN—S. F. Wright

 

S.F. Wright lives and teaches in New Jersey. His work has appeared in Hobart, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, and Elm Leaves Journal, among other places. His short story collection, The English Teacher, is forthcoming from Cerasus Poetry, and his website is sfwrightwriter.com.

GIRL ON A TRAIN

The PATH

Was so crowded

That we were

Shoulder to

Shoulder;

My left hand

Around the 

Handrail, I

Imagined

The germs

I touched, and

Thought of

Soap and water

Washing them off.

In front of me,

Against the door,

Stood a young woman;

She held a small

Shopping bag

And looked toward the door,

Her expression

Alert yet tranquil.

She was pretty— 

But there was

Something else;

She was like

Something out of

My childhood;

And a pang of

Missed opportunity

Enveloped me, and I 

Thought of saying something

To express what

I felt;

But that would’ve been

Impossible;

So,

Even though

We both got off

At Jersey City,

And I could’ve

Timed it

So that I was near her

As we went up 

The escalator,

I walked 

Past her,

Up the escalator’s

Left part,

Excising her,

As though

In revenge

Against the world

Or myself.