above sleeping heads

hot disc paused
over a flat grey
stage

men scurry
and do not pause
as a giant
following unseen laws
lifts its nose
and leaves the earth

comical vehicles
dart between
yellow and black lines
keeping their distance

another beast lumbers
heavy now
out of its element
limping on tiny wheels
almost empty of fuel
tired and waiting
to disgorge
its human cargo

the tunnel waits too
jutting out
into the bay of grey
keen to suck
the marrow
to signify the end
of the journey
and the beginning
of something else

something else
is coming to an end
the shadows
of the late afternoon
reach long towards evening
foretell the night
the darkness
the journey ahead

on the other side
of the glass
rising slowly
in spurts and starts
a dandelion
catches the wind
a flight without visas
or tickets
it has a clear goal
but no destination
no guarantee of arriving

it’s all hazy now
a golden glow
of dust and
obscurred fencelines

a red dorsal fin
cuts across the
fuzzy memory of the horizon
the cylindrical body
cruises in circles
preparing for launch
the effort to come

there is a sense
that this day
will not lie down
will not concede defeat
to the night
the darkness
not ungraciously
just in keeping
with the mindset
of the travellers
under luggage stowed
above sleeping heads