Waiting,
I pace up and down, swearing under my breathe as my hands turn blue.
Still waiting,
Crowds of disgruntled people slowly edge their way towards the front,
They've been waiting an hour and each wants to be first in line.
More swearing and a united sigh, as the green beast goes thundering past
'Not In Service.'
Finally it arrives, thirty seconds before 'the woman in the shoe' who manages to get on first, despite being cursed by the frozen mass behind her.
At last we are off,
Packed in like sardines, no room for health and safety during rush hour.
I turn up my headphones, failing desperately to drown out the small child kicking and screaming behind me.
"Move down please."
Still more people getting on,
Bodies tutting and complaining, squeezed in with squashed toes and banging elbows.
"Move down please."
As they now try to fit a pushchair on an already over-crowded bus.
Children scream at the front,
Laugh and shout at the back,
I'm stuck somewhere in the middle,
Irritated by the heat and noise, as an empty can rolls against my foot.
Traffic crawls and we're going nowhere fast.
Another hour of kicking and screaming before I am free from this hell.
I breathe a sigh of relief to be back in the open air,
Just a temporary interlude,
Until tomorrow when it all begins again.
