Profiles In Motion

Last time I was in Sydney (boy I make that sound like I go there a lot, only twice, 12 years apart), I traveled extensively by mass transit when I was not hoofing it. The place I was staying was only about 3 miles from Downtown, so it was a long walk, but not annoyingly so. Depending on traffic in Sydney's old winding streets, walking was sometimes easier. Also, I could take the train, but that was only so effective as well. Anyway, I hopped onto a bus one busy afternoon and winded my way to town and noticed the blurred reflection of the various persons getting on and off the bus. It struck me as a metaphor for how we deal with each other and the business of our lives.

The poem below is the result of such inspiration and I should point out is pretty stream of consciousness and I am aware of the lack of punctuation. I simply felt the style was right for what I was seeing.

'Profiles In Motion'

Are we all the same
So long as we are in motion?

Glances traversing sensing movement aside
Rushing into chaotic din within without
Seeing briefly through an instant
Blurred crowds pushing reacting tearing
Overwhelmed... hopes thrown askance
By the restless tide.

Do they know
What we become in motion?

Faces lost details forgotten trapped
Locked away in limbo recall pointless
Glancing questions vacant answers
Hollowed racing amidst shadows of time
Contained... lives held down
Where concrete and steel collide.

Are we aware
This price of being in motion?

Forms fuse merge blank forced
Charging leading through mindless clutter
Losing stripped vestige of souls
Maddened frenetic pace fraught
Burdened... in the guilt of days
Made manifest by routine.

They all drift away
The longer I stay in motion.

C.