John-Ward Leighton

STORIES FROM THE PAST

Photo ©Copyright 2007 by John-Ward LeightonHaunting songs in my head phones
I rode the bus today
back to the exploits of my youth.
Now old men sit at pristine tables
drinking coffee and telling lies.
Then back by ferry to another bus ride.
The bus is crowded and the weather hot
the interior of the bus a sauna
that reeks of armpits
and the standing room only crowds in.
Three young girls
stand before my seat
one straggly bearded youth in tow.
One girl sways on the bus straps
forward to the young man
backward to her giggling friends.
The young man strokes her thighs
mere inches from the “V”
she smiles and laughs
and nuzzles his face:
“Oh, your sweet horniness,”
scant inches from my face
your friends snicker
and turn red.
I watch more amused than aroused
and think they should get a room
if they don’t resist the urge
to copulate on the bus.
And then the day is complete
and I have arrived to home
a morning of travel
a too short meeting with friends
an afternoon of travel
and to home
a surreal day
of telling lies
and
stories from the past.