The boy on the bus
Was a scared little man
With his feet on his bags
And his mind on The Plan
The boy on the bus
That I left undisturbed
Though his nervousness made me
Uneasy, perturbed
The boy on the bus
Blew his nose, picked his ear
Buried face in a book
To pretend no one’s near
The boy on the bus
Didn’t flinch, looked away
When the hipster beside me
Screwed his top off to spray
The boy on the bus
Caught in bubbling splash
Of cool mineral water
Dripping seat, cuffs and lash
The boy on the bus
Friendless did not react
Kept his mind on the journey
To survive it intact
The boy on the bus
Struck a chord when I saw
How he treated the paperback
New from a store
The boy on the bus
Had I seen him before
On the flickering screen
Or in newsprint galore
The boy on the bus
That I couldn’t be sure
Was the one some authorities
Were searching for
The boy on the bus
Unremarkable, odd
With the face of a saint
Knelt in fear of his God
Katherine Shirley 