I caught sight of her
just before the train came in on
platform four
she stood out for a second in the crowd
that stuck to the train like black syrup
as soon as it shrieked to a halt

I got up on mere instinct
relishing a possible comparatively quiet seat
thinking ahead of a book I would read
to provide some local anaesthesia

I sat down in the train and held a book
furtively shielding the title
from the uninterested public eye
When she walked by, I looked up