Noah Fang

11:55AM on a Workday

11:55AM on a Workday
by Fanz Hugo

It’s five to twelve,
when the station goes
ephemerally silent
with walking ghosts.

Even musicians take
the moment to enjoy
yet another prelude
to the instant chaos.

AM to PM sounds
like a huge shift,
like from night to day.
Nothing happens.

Not much chitchat
aboard the train.
Two young women
talk loudly. Don’t care.

One elder woman
takes her nap,
looking up whenever
the voiceover starts.

The next station
is High Park,
where the sakura trees
are dying of old age.

If I was a writer,
I’d tell the story
of their afterlives
in Japanese.

Waiting is the only
condolence that seems
to matter for now,
here at the station.

{END}

Young Legs in Spring
by Fanz Hugo

It’s morning again,
but morning is commuting.
Young legs of schoolgirls
in uniform fill the train.

An occasional teenager
sits and nudges her fingers,
with her annoyed father
standing by in silence.

White legs, dark legs,
socks and playful skirts.
All are impatient,
especially in the morning.

Young legs are slim and fast,
roaming the escalator,
up to the station exit.
They never stop stretching.

For once, she stands still,
hands down helping
her skirt fight the wind outside,
waiting for her pals to come.

Her future rivals. Or lovers.
Who knows. It’s up to her.
Two young legs will
walk elegance in spring.

{END}