
There are many ways of looking for a poem in the metro.
You could be a reader of its Lignes et Rimes
Four-line instalments scissored out of their originals
Epic poems, romantic odes or even pop-rock lyrics
That may or may not move you
To look them up when you go home.
(La RATP vous souhaite une année poétique)
You could be a reader of its graffiti,
Of the traces on its steel surfaces scrawled with markers
Protest calls, rally cries, declarations of love and sometimes
Plays on word by some smartass guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
(Et la Laumière fut! This gem spotted on line 5)
You could instead listen to the voice of the RATP
Telling you to mind the gap between the train and the platform
And beware of getting your fingers caught between the closing doors
And you could draw a metaphor with the journey of your life.
(Tous les voyageurs sont invités à descendre, merci)
You could even look at the faces around you
Look past their blank, wearied expressions
And try to imagine what is going on in their minds.
You could eavesdrop on the happy couples, the excessive PDA couples, the quarrelling couples
Steal bits of their conversations and invent dramatic stories about their lives.
(Pour ne pas tenter les pickpockets, fermez bien vos sacs et surveillez vos objets personnels)
How about looking at the rail network map
And imagining each line as a person
Line 1 chic, well-dressed, and ambitious,
Line 7 bis a forlorn, forgotten old man
The RER lines somewhere between precocious teens who want to be part of the cool crowd
And wise old veterans who have become the backbone of society.
If you are a sensual person, you could take pictures, scribble notes
Obsessively listing every sight and sound and smell
Every bell, and whirr and beep;
Every whiff of flowers or takeaway food or pee
For future use in a poem like this.
If you are an introspective sort, you could ponder
The repercussions of missed chances and parallel lives
Every time you missed a train.
(Veuillez nous excuser pour la gêne occasionnée)
There are many ways of looking for a poem in the metro
The best way is to hop on to any line
And wait for the lines to come to you.
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