There’s a surge of crowd
on the platform;
the track looms
too close for comfort
and the train is imminent,
according to the announcement,
so I hug the wall,
conscious of an icy spike of wind
tugging me
a little closer
to the edge.
Kim M. Russell, 11th March 2019
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille: Spike up a Poem, also linked to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform
De has given us a tricky word this week, which inspired a poem about my experience on a railway platform. I found the image afterwards.
writing in north norfolk 
So pretty to read!
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Thanks!
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Pleasure!
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I love that your setting is a railway platform, but your use of “spike” is completely different from a railroad spike. So clever. That “icy spike of wind” chilled me right through.
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Thank you, De!
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This made me think of my fear of railroads as a kid…. too close for comfort when they came… and with of spike of wind it would be even worse.
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I retreated to a small space in the tiny waiting room – much safer.
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I used to teach the blind to travel with a white cane. One of the lessons was a railroad crossing; standing close to the tracks as a train passes by; quite frightening without sight.
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It’s easier without the crowds of other travellers!
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Your ability to take an everyday experience and wax lyrical always amazes me. Good write!
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Thank you so much, Bev!
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Marvelous! And now I want to know why those cows are there, of all places.
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They just invaded the platform somewhere in Kent.
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LOL- it’s perfect with your poem.
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Quick little catch of breath reading this Kim. Stay clear of that edge…! Love the pic!
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Thanks Rob! I was also on the London Underground over the weekend – even scarier!
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This was such a great read!
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Thank you so much!
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I can sense some fear when one is near the edge specially with: icy spike of wind.
Hope the ride wasn’t so bad.
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We had a whole carriage to ourselves – and the heating was on!
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That icy tug is quite chilling – macabre almost.
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Evil?
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Just spooky.
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Definitely takes me back to working in Boston. I definitely don’t miss those cold train platforms!
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Even when commuters are huddled together like penguins, windy platforms are torture!
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Definitely!
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“Icy spike of wind,” is such an apt and alluring image! ❤️ I am going to miss winter! 🙂
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I’m not sure I’ll miss it, Sanaa. Our winters are damp and drab rather than ‘crisp and even’!
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The cows should make a good buffer. 😉
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🙂
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The cows are amazing.
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🙂
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Oh that image is fabulous.. wonder if the cows feel compelled to go to the edge too!
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🙂
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a clever, edgy quadrille Kim – interesting how the wind is tugging from the front – not pushing but pulling. The edge has an unnerving fascination
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Thank you, Laura. I was tempted to write about waiting for the tube – I did quite a bit of that last weekend and the edge of the platform really does scare me down there – but I had trouble including the word ‘spike’, which didn’t quite fit.
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I know what you mean – the rush of air seems to want to suck us onto the tracks
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I’ve felt that way during one of my first trips to NYC by myself. At least when it is really packed, like in the picture, it cuts down on the wind’s ability to chill as thoroughly.
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I was at a tiny station in Essex, where it’s flat and windy much of the year. It seemed as if the wind was an invisible train!
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Luv your spike image. You took us there. Nice image to ponder long aftef reading your poem. Happy you dropped by my blog
Much🌻love
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Love the photo!! Humans are a lot like cattle when crowded on the platform waiting for the train! Well done! That spike of cold air reminds us that winter is still around!
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There’s a creepiness to this poem, Kim. That compulsion to get too close to the edge.
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I like the description of that ominous tug toward the edge.
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Thanks Frank.
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Your word gave me a shiver – but that picture just made me laugh
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Humour helps.
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Made me shiver at the thought of being on that platform!
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Underground platforms are the worst!
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A visceral write, Kim! Excellent!
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Thank you, Frank!
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I hate crowds, especially when standing on the edge of a precipice, as some railroad stops seem to be. I hated the submways in NYC and all the people pushing to get on. Scary write Kim!
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It was scary standing on that platform!
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Ha…clever photo. Herd mentality eh?
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🙂
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Mind the Gap!!! A fun read, I’m reminded of the Milton-Keynes station.
..
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Mind the gap indeed, Jim! Some of the gaps between train and station are so big I think I might skip through.
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Sounds bleak! What a great use of ‘spike’.
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Thank you, Rosemary.
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That’s a fun picture for such a write. I felt the heebeegeebees of that spike of wind before the train rushes into a packed station. Nice one.
Pat
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Thank you, Pat!
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