---

No one said a word

As we were lulled by the jostling of the train

the clanking of the carriages 

And the shapes speeding past in the darkness beyond the windows

Occasionally I caught the eye of another

Only to release it immediately

To avoid any awkwardness

Better to be alone than to cross any boundaries

The doppler effect of another train

Travelling in the opposite direction

Hitting its crescendo as it sped past

Lighting our windows with its light

Momentarily our reflections were replaced 

by speeding images of another reality

Just like us, but not us

And gone in an instant

But in that instant

I caught my own eye 

And held it for an eternity

Stopped in mid flight

I knew him

And he knew me 

The doppler tone waned

And the distance between us grew once more

Had the others seen it too?

No one spoke 

Or moved a facial muscle

Better to be alone than to cross any boundaries 

The windows were dark again

The rhythm of the clanking resumed 

Someone cleared his throat

And we moved with the jostling of the rain

---

Mike OBrien lives in the North Of England, he enjoys writing poetry and self publishes more than he is published by others. He writes a weekly piece on his Substack – Sixty Odd Poems (zoomburst.substack.com) and promotes the work of others on his other Substack page – Sixty Odd Poets (sixtyoddpoets.substack.com) His hobbies include watering the garden and speaking about himself in the third person.