#2,551 Couplings

Brand-slap by ads – we’ll be
tempted by gloss & shinings
[us quick-hypnotised fools]

Two tube staff slow & turn &
canoodle outside Terminal 5
[we are waiting on a minute-
dragging bus] – Whirr & kick
of trolley bag wheels spins a
commonly heard complaint
in our minacious transit hub

Then a diesel gush & air-hiss
of a red bus – re-connected –
I find a seat – a map dot – we
are tracked [merged for now
on my screen] – a shudder of
coachwork panels on speed-
humps – sway – a bottle rolls
from its resting place – freed

My destination announced in
rudely lit words ahead [press
to stop] & my passage ended
for my night in another hotel

without a paid connection to
a woman’s online allure – Bed
& bathroom tired – fit for refit