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I have revised the ending of this poem and removed a line earlier on. Also, the lines beginning "I would marry" and "I wish your dimples" should be italicised.

MOMENT ON THE METRO

I get on at Bastille,

the carriage is as hot as Algiers

and about as busy.

Nobody is talking except

the twins who sit near the door,

discussing their route to wherever

they may go


I would marry you because

you have dimples when you smile.

No other reason


I watch them act out their small drama

and listen to the way they talk,

the one on the left has all the plans.

Nothing else exists,

and then, I hear the brakes squeal

the doors slam open

and they are gone.


I wish your dimpled smile had stayed,

we could have gone to Algiers,

to the glistening white of the old town

and the camel trains of the desert