Modernity
Sliding past the cafe window,
a 'next generation tram' -
sleek, shiny, streamlined,
maybe more straps to hang on
than seats to ride smoothly on -
so modern I feel it's no
tram for me. Yet - 'modern'?
Does modern stay modern?
Where I live, our apartment's
part of a Streamline Moderne
building, nineteen thirty-seven.
I too date from that year,
since when it's been for me a ride
smooth enough in a good seat
(the world's notorious troubles
mostly ignorable elsewhere).
Slack, stooping, shambling,
with senior's concession,
I watch the commuters
debouch at the terminus,
homeward bound for tea.
Sunset, and one last tram for me,
and may I reach my terminus
and disembark smilingly.
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