The Poetry of a Crowded Bus

In “Anecdotal Tales”, stories will be told. Some will be fun, some will not. Some will be great, some will be less so. Some stories are true, some are merely possible. This is one of them.

The Poetry of a Crowded Bus

“Trying to maintain order during a legalized gang brawl involving 80 toughs with a little whistle, a hanky and a ton of prayer.”  ~Anonymous referee, explaining his job

Harry never considered himself a big sports nut,
He lacked the passion for competition in his gut.
He didn’t own jerseys with a number or a name
Nor did he know any members in the hall of fame.

Not a football buff, Harry was a regular guy.
He focused on his night job to help hours pass by.
When his shift was over, Harry headed for his home
He yearned for his soft pillow to meet his drowsy dome.

Yet he found an obstacle between him and his bed,
Had he known earlier, it would have filled him with dread.
A quiet, empty bus was a key part of his plans,
Instead he found one crammed full of excited sports fans.

Had he remembered the news, he’d known what to expect
But now he found that the hope of a calm ride was wrecked.
The seats had all been taken about four blocks before,
So Harry knew he’d be standing still on the bus-floor.

The driver declared that she’d skip the last stop downtown
However someone wanted off, which just made her frown.
Somehow everyone fit, though they were rather sour.
Waiting was no option; the next bus was in an hour.

Harry stood exhausted as his arms grew quite weary.
His knees started to hurt, and he was feeling dreary.
With each stop that let folks off to walk to their houses
There arose a hassle for the commuting louses.

Take the person who stood stuck at the back of the bus
Who couldn’t maneuver through and so started to cuss.
The people had no room to get one past another,
Frightened children stood terrified next to their mother.

Harry was just too tired to look around and see,
If he was standing next to a suit or hillbilly.
He certainly wished they would stop cheering in delight,
After all, the hour was quick approaching midnight.

It had been a hot day, and everyone had that smell
That comes when one’s deodorant stops working so well.
There was the well-known stench of burped-up stadium beer,
Which helped explain why some guys were so eager to cheer.

Finally it happened, as the riders knew it would,
The driver came to a light, stopped as fast as she could.
The brakes were applied, the crammed riders all held on tight,
Clearly the bus was too big to slow down for the light.

The quick jolt sent the bus-full of them bouncing about,
Naturally large groups of people started to shout.
The crowds reached for the handholds, they all gave it their best;
Still Harry fell backwards as someone fell on his chest.

Harry fought to stand up, although it took him a while,
Then he found himself greeted by a delightful smile.
“Sorry about that”, the woman said softly to Harry.
“Thanks for catching me; that was a little bit scary.”

They laughed at the situation, their faces started to happily beam,
Thus the non-fan met the head of the cheerleading team.
Harry surprised himself by stating his thought out loud,
“There are advantages to being stuck in a crowd.”

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