Commuter

 ** commuter **
Battered to work
Commuter fatigue setting in
Have the six inch glare
Unapproachability of a veteran
Ridden these rails and tracks
For a good twenty years
Seen trains empty and fill
The lean times when seats hard to find
Contrast with school holidays
When those martyred parents
Escape with squealing brood
To some affordable tourist mecca
Providing more space for those who remain
Battled strikes and service failures
Know the timetable by heart
Which side of train to stand
For a fast departure
Or which end of train to board depending on station destination
Seen storms and night and dawns
Drunks preachers beggars readers
The weary never conceding commuters
Riding the iron horse twice daily
From and to the CBD.