Hi all,

Thank you very much to Linda for a very kind donation of £10 towards the Acorns to Oaks Poetry on Demand Challenge. The request was for a poem about kindness, so here it is, a haiku sequence – a slightly idealised vision of a ride on the Tube. Hope you like it.

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One Stop

At Piccadilly,

Eastbound platform heaves with life,

She’s bumped finding space.

Her ticket falling,

Youngster bends to fetch it up,

Hands it back, smiling.

She boards the carriage,

Holds doors for some latecomers,

A man and his son.

They breathe in relief,

Dad breaks out water bottles,

In celebration.

Toasting their saviour,

Old gent watching grins,

“Must call kids tonight.”

Tube carriage rocking,

Tourist clutches tight to bags,

But loses balance.

Is caught by Brian,

Up in town for the theatre,

But more for the wife.

She loves musicals,

Always pops online to buy,

The soundtrack for Dad.

(He can’t make the trip,

But he entertains the staff,

At the home, with songs.)

The tourist thanks him,

In a tongue that Brian knows,

From times long ago.

All that kindness packed,

Between there and Leicester Square,

So much more out there.

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Well, that’s that. Maybe you’ll look for a little of it next time you’re on the Piccadilly Line.

All the best,

Richard

The fundraiser will run until the end of the month. You can contribute by following this link.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/richard-austin-1722088118449?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Frichard-austin-1722088118449&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Meanwhile, big thanks to Linda! the YouTube link is underneath too.