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I met a man On a train As you do Though
Perhaps prefer not to. (Personally I try to avoid it.)
He said
I shake anywhere South
Of Tynemouth
(Town in Northern England). I judged him rough
And sat up straight Alert to danger Adjacent to
The chatty stranger
(We had the table between us thankfully.) I sell cleaning products
In Mayfair Dusters and mops Door to
Door
(This surprised me, as I didn’t think people still did this.) From a suitcase
I ventured No Jack
From a rucksack On my back
(Jack’s my name, by the way. I forgot to mention that.) It used to be drugs
He mentions
But that was illegal Immoral
And not profitable
(My jaw dropped at this, partly because of the upset to the established wisdom on the business of drug dealing, but mainly because of his confession)
I buy stuff Cheap
Off a bloke I know
In Stoke
(Town in the middle of England) Then take the bus
To Mayfair And Chelsea
Where they see me As charity
(This insight surprised me. He clearly played upon it.)
Then his eyes began to roll
he pressed his head to the table He said he was feeling ill
And without so much as a friendly signal He got off at Peterborough.
July 17, 2023