Bus Stop Morning – Janet Guo

Bus Stop Morning

we jump to shake off the frost
defying our bags of gravity, textbooks and overdue ass-ignments
you ask how many hours i got last night
i sheepishly hold up a hand
you go in for the high five until realisation hits you
and you return with a thwack on my head
“!!!”
my huffs are stifled in the puff of exhaust
fumes that trail behind the screeching bus
it doesn’t ever seem to notice us until it’s too late

laughing
we waste all the time we will ever need
and you wage war upon our unbeatable enemies
of Work, demanding our meagre offering of sleep
of Time, pushing us into the gaping mouth of society
of Age, swarming us with impending responsibility
“work is for the weak
we have time on the bus
just catch up on your sleep”
shuffle on the bus, wear our mask, bag our seats
i fit into your neck like lock and key
your hair my makeshift curtain
that strokes my eyelids shut
and the
lull of the bus
rocks me back to a carefree past
when the future was
more
than    Credits    Applications    University

—————————————–   zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz –

you never knew what to do on the mechanical commute
eyes boring out the window, sitting in the music video that you’ve played a thousand times
the beeeep-shudder-jolt of every stop pacing the tempo
synced along to the freshest earworm living in your head
you watch the footpath roll past us like cassette tapes
layered people, gliding backwards, puffing frozen clouds
the weight of my head on your shoulder, anchoring you in
this moment
one less of what we’ll have left
no more than what we’d ever ask for

Janet Guo
Year 12
Hillcrest High School