Image: a railway platform with the words MIND THE GAP painted for the
benefit of those alighting from the train, so that the letters are upside-down
from the perspective of those waiting to board the train.
Now is the season for journeys home by train
(it has been too long)
I settle into my seat:
a small child
appears, over the seat in front of me
looking back, holding my gaze.
I smile, instinctively
cover my eyes with my hands,
then—peekaboo—reveal my face
blinkered between palms, thumbs pressed
against my cheekbones,
cupping my smile,
and hide, reveal, and hide, reveal again.
The child delights, in their shy way,
at once inquisitive and coy;
but where does adult end and child begin?
Passengers a-lighting,
please mind the gap
between the inner child and
the weight of the world.
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