The 6:45 commuter train to Ridgefield
Feb 24, 2014 21:02:42 GMT -6
Brigid Briton, SweetSilverBird, and 3 more like this
Post by twriter44 on Feb 24, 2014 21:02:42 GMT -6
This is a rather dark story poem about transformation
The 6:45 commuter train to Ridgefield
Was on time
The executive stared out the tinted
Window watching the evening
Winter sun flickered over scant snow
Covered streets and fields
Pinstriped, polished shoed,
Necktied, briefcased.
Weary, a long day of
Conferences and clients
The man appeared, sat across from him
In the coveralls of a janitor
Tall, lean, a bald, shining head
Scruffy beard
He smiled “Name’s Ricky
Evening, sir. We’re on time”
The executive muttered “Yes”
And returned to his Wall Street Journal
Folded his cashmere overcoat
Evening winter sun
Soothing rumble and rush
Of the train
“I’m a janitor.
Know any janitors?
I mean, as a friend.
Not just cleaning up your fancy office.”
His words drifted,
unwelcome,
into the weary executive’s
Crowded mind.
The executive
pushed long, thin, smooth
hands, manicured fingers
Through thick, silver hair
Corporate cut, sharply parted
“ME?” he managed to say, tired, annoyed.
“Know a janitor?
No, no, nobody”
“No, you wouldn’t, would you?
Good thing we're on time.
How old? What’s your name sir?”
The janitor’s voice, calm and friendly
strangely comforting,
persistent, entering in.
“58” the words came out.
Why did he answer?
“William. Prescott. WHY?”
"I like to know who
I'm traveling with"
"Traveling WITH?"
William repeated
The man said "Married?"
William sighed
"Not anymore"
He shifted in his seat.
"That's fine" said the man.
"What? Why" The executive's words trailed off.
The man went on
and on
thoughts of the two men
mixing, combining
"That's alright
Time is everything
time for everything
What work do you do?"
"VP of finance"
said William
absently, automatically.
"I figured it was some
High and mighty job"
William's silence
Rumble of the train
The janitor's voice
insinuating into
his thoughts
deeper, deeper
settling in,
finding a place,
intruding.
William resisting,
but what was there
to resist?
"Classy suit" sang the janitor
"Look at you!
Dressed to the nines.
I'll bet that set you back a few bucks"
William's eyebrows rose and fell.
"Good to know the man
I'm on the journey with"
The janitor grinned.
"The journey WITH?"
“Looks like we’re on time. The time is right”
The janitor droned on.
"Bet you drive a BMW"
"Porsche" William corrected
"But why...."
The winter sun reddened and slipped
Through pewter clouds
The janitor's eyes moved to
William's feet
secure in his $1,000 shoes
his eyes piercing polished leather.
“Now those are one classy pair of shoes!”
William watched scuddering
Clouds, serious, thoughtful
The janitor chattered, muttered
William finally resisted, snapping, crying out
“Leave me alone. Be quiet…be quiet!”
“Bad mood?” mocked the janitor
"Look at you!
ALL DRESSED UP
LIKE A PRIZE TURKEY.
Like the prize in a
contest.
Much too well dressed
High and mighty
It will wear you out.
Your fancy shoes are too tight.
That must be it"
William stood. “That is enough.
I will find the conductor and complain!”
His voice haughty, proud, disgusted
His eyes like blue ice
“No” The janitor
Reaches and grabs the
narrow white wrist of the
Executive and tightens his grip
The executive stunned, shocked
"How dare you..."
“I said no” The janitor pulls the executive down
Back to his seat.
William finds his strength gone.
He cannot resist.
He doesn’t understand.
He submits.
Obeys.
He falls heavily to his seat.
The janitor continues talking, talking, talking…
“You are living the wrong life. That’s it.”
William leaned back
rested his silver head
and softly groaned.
"What? No, that's not it.
What....what do you WANT of me....?"
"Business school MBA?"
looking at William's ring.
"Yes"
William obediently responded.
The janitor's presence
poured through
the boundaries of
William's mind and heart.
Uninvited, streaming in,
a repellent invasion.
The janitor merrily chattered
"Too shiny, too expensive for you.
Those socks
are squeezing your ankles,
silk stretched over them.
Now why
do you pull them so tight?
That tie is squeezing your neck,
silk tied around it”
William had no choice.
He listened to this janitor humiliating,
Assessing him.
Like a prize horse,
taking him apart,
Piece by piece.
“That watch is squeezing your wrist,
gold wrapped around it.
Those pinstripes keep you
formal, uptight
Make anyone miserable.
Bad day”
William’s breath came in gasps.
Why didn’t he leave?
His body felt heavy.
His mind clouded.
But William snapped
“Long day. That’s all. My shoes are fine.
Too expensive?
Handmade for me.
My ankles are fine.
My neck is fine.
My wrist is fine.
Just a long day
Very long”
“Long day?” sang the man
"The time is right.
They can’t be fine if they don’t fit”
“Long day” said William
“Long week. Long month. Long….”
"Lemme see your teeth"
snapped the janitor.
"No" said William. "No, no...."
He opened his mouth, degraded
shocked.
"Thousands of dollars spent
on those fine white teeth!
Close your mouth now..."
William's mouth shut with relief.
The janitor opened a mouth full of broken yellowed teeth.
"Lemme see your hair"
He grabbed
William's carefully groomed head.
"All that silver belong to you?"
"Yes" said William. "Please"
Janitor's hands grab four inches of hair.
"Fine hair! All yours! A little TOO fine!"
William's humbled head fell
against the cold window.
"You just close your eyes.
Too shiny. Too expensive"
You need to sleep"
The janitor's voice melted and blended and
entered in.
"Sleep. Maybe I'll sleep. A while"
William adjusted the jacket
of his Brioni suit,
tightened his tie
checked the shine on his shoes
and let his shoulders
drop.
The janitor's voice
a soothing croon
invading his mind
roaming through his
inner life
An unwanted guest
that could not be
resisted.
"Put your head back.
Let what dreams may come.
The time is right.
The time is here"
The janitor's voice soft
The executive relaxed, nodded, dozed
The train rumbled, soothing
In its rush
Time dripped by drops
Falling, sliding, descending
into sleep
into dreams
down and down and down.
“Wake up”
The executive’s eyes opened
Heavy lids and dim lights
Winter country rushing by
He looked down, and stared
Shaking his head
To clear out what he saw
He looked down and stared, again
No, it isn’t real
No, it cannot be
No, it isn’t real
Yes….Yes…..It’s real
In the dim light
of the winter evening
on the 6:45
His hand rested on his leg
On rough, coarse cloth.
He was still almost asleep
Pulled at the cloth, confused,
Alarmed.
Woke himself up.
Slowly, slowly, then he saw…
He wore janitor’s coveralls
Yes, coveralls
On his long, lanky frame
Nothing else
His head shook feebly
Tangled, smothered by sleep
Confusion. What? What?
“Where are my…What?”
Wearing coveralls
"My suit. Where....?"
No pinstripes
No white shirt
William Prescott in
Menial workman's clothes
On the 6:45 to Ridgefield
He looked across, and stared, again.
The man
The janitor
But dressed to the nines
"My pinstriped suit. My suit" said William
his eyes glassy and stunned
The janitor was dressed in his own
Yes, William’s own
Brioni pinstriped
business suit
"My clothes..
you're wearing my...suit….my suit…my business suit…"
The man smiled.
“The name is Richard”
“But my SUIT!” gasped William. “MY SUIT”
William looked at his own
Paisley silk necktie
Impeccably tied
around the neck of the Other.
His own starched white shirt
His own Rolex on the other’s wrist
His own school ring on the other's finger
Eyes between stunned and disbelieving
Thoughts between chaos and shock
Wandered down
His own handmade-in-London
Black polished brogues
His own so-thin-you-can see-the-toes
black dress socks pulled tight
on the feet
Of the other man
With a shock he knows he is no longer
Wearing underwear
"You’ve been asleep a long time
Too long
A very long time"
William's heart choked with
sudden, stunned rage
But the anger shattered and
splintered into
Passive grief
William’s own feet
Bare, white, long, clean,
But the soles and heels on the dirty floor
Were no longer smooth and supple
Calloused, wrinkled, hardened
Feet resting naked on the floor
Of the 6:45 to Ridgefield
"My shoes and socks.
Gone. Nothing on my feet.
Nothing"
Heart pounding
thoughts, impressions
colliding, dissolving
Humbled, shamed feet
ached for his former shoes
Almost touched the polished leather
William Prescott
Barefoot
on the 6:45 to Ridgefield
“My shoes and socks….”
Richard smiled
“They would not fit
Your feet.
You’ve been asleep a long time
Too long
A very long time.
The time is right”
William gasped for air.
“They do not fit.
Cannot fit.
To dream of shoes”
William's mind reeled
and clashed and sank
confusion and fear
"They cannot fit
Your ankles are free"
William's eyes moved
Up and settled
At Richard's head of
Thick silver hair
Sharply parted
Corporate cut
Richard’s face was clean shaven
William's long, thin now-calloused hands moved to his
Own forehead, searching
With dirt ringed fingernails
But not finding
Soft silver hair
His own scalp now a smooth, clean dome
As naked as his feet
as naked as his wrist,
as naked as his ankles
"My hair. My hair" he whispered.
“I’m bald. Not a hair. Bald….”
Richard sang softly, mockingly
“Your hair. Your hair.
Where is your fine, full head of hair?”
His tongue searches his mouth to find
broken teeth and empty spaces.
"My teeth...."
William’s fingers moved to his throat
and found
a scruffy beard
where he had been shaved smooth
Always shaved smooth
Fingers explored further down
searching exposed skin
finding exposed throat.
Silk tieless
Richard gently mocked:
"Silver hair, clean face, necktie before,
Bald head, hairy face, naked neck now.
No necktie
Squeezing you now
Before and after"
“Before?” William whispered.
"But my pinstriped suit!" he said.
“What dreams may come”
Richard’s eyes wide
“Suits create arrogance.
No suit. No arrogance”
Richard stood taller, looming over
William's exposed white throat.
"Hair and perfect teeth create vanity.
No hair, ruined teeth, no vanity"
Vertigo of the mind
Melting, mixing, changing
Separating
The rush of the train
The soothing rumble
The business suit he had been
wearing that day
Walked in it proudly through
Offices and airports
Conferences and dinners
Navy pinstripes
Now worn by the other man
Pocket square, cufflinks
Gleaming English shoes
Mocking him
“You’ve been asleep a long time”
Said Richard
“A very long time
I know the
importance of time
as a VP of finance”
“What?” William whispered.
"You.."
“But it’s time to wake up Billy"
"Wake up?
"Floors to mop. To buff.
Toilets to clean”
"But that would make me a...."
whispered Billy.
"JANITOR.
Always have been.
Will be as long as you live."
A pair of dirty, worn
work boots
and white sweat socks
Were dropped.
"JANITOR.
Always have been.
Will be as long as you work."
“Put these on. Ridgefield next.
We can't have you walking on the
platform in your bare feet”
Ridgefield Platform
He stood there that morning
Pinstriped and overcoated
The handmade brogues
His feet clicking
As they did every morning
Or had he?
That morning
That week
That month?
Was that man him?
Was the man he now was
more or less him?
"White socks?" said Billy
White socks on the 6:45 to Ridgefield
Had he been wearing black dress
Brooks Brothers socks that day?
"Black dress socks are for offices
For expensive shoes and commuter trains
For business suits and dreams
But you must WAKE UP"
Richard picked up his briefcase
Straightened his tie
And folded his Wall Street Journal
Put on the cashmere overcoat
He pulled
Keys to the Porsche from the pocket of
the Brioni
“JANITOR.
Always have been.
Will be as long as you live, work and breathe.
I'll drive you to the warehouse
for the night shift”
Billy murmured
“My car. My Porsche…”
“Your what? You don’t even have a driver’s license!
Put those on.
What are you doing on this train barefoot!"
Billy tried to remember
Office, home, college,
Ambition, achievement, success.
Images glinted in his mind
Then broke apart and vanished.
“It never happened” said Richard
in his smooth, calming voice
“You never went to college.
You never were an executive
You never got married
You were never a success.
You never wear suits
You never even wear shoes
Unless you have to”
“I don’t wear shoes?
But my money..”
Billy reached slowly for William’s wallet
but the jumpsuit
had no pockets
Richard pulled out the wallet
credit cards
business cards
license
office ID
“They are all mine. All”
William dissolved in a pool
Of fragments.
"yes sir.
Sorry, sir. Please forgive me"
Richard stopped
Fastened a cufflink,
Glanced at WP
And Billy slid white feet
Into white socks and work boots and walked
After him into the night.
The 6:45 commuter train to Ridgefield
Was on time
The executive stared out the tinted
Window watching the evening
Winter sun flickered over scant snow
Covered streets and fields
Pinstriped, polished shoed,
Necktied, briefcased.
Weary, a long day of
Conferences and clients
The man appeared, sat across from him
In the coveralls of a janitor
Tall, lean, a bald, shining head
Scruffy beard
He smiled “Name’s Ricky
Evening, sir. We’re on time”
The executive muttered “Yes”
And returned to his Wall Street Journal
Folded his cashmere overcoat
Evening winter sun
Soothing rumble and rush
Of the train
“I’m a janitor.
Know any janitors?
I mean, as a friend.
Not just cleaning up your fancy office.”
His words drifted,
unwelcome,
into the weary executive’s
Crowded mind.
The executive
pushed long, thin, smooth
hands, manicured fingers
Through thick, silver hair
Corporate cut, sharply parted
“ME?” he managed to say, tired, annoyed.
“Know a janitor?
No, no, nobody”
“No, you wouldn’t, would you?
Good thing we're on time.
How old? What’s your name sir?”
The janitor’s voice, calm and friendly
strangely comforting,
persistent, entering in.
“58” the words came out.
Why did he answer?
“William. Prescott. WHY?”
"I like to know who
I'm traveling with"
"Traveling WITH?"
William repeated
The man said "Married?"
William sighed
"Not anymore"
He shifted in his seat.
"That's fine" said the man.
"What? Why" The executive's words trailed off.
The man went on
and on
thoughts of the two men
mixing, combining
"That's alright
Time is everything
time for everything
What work do you do?"
"VP of finance"
said William
absently, automatically.
"I figured it was some
High and mighty job"
William's silence
Rumble of the train
The janitor's voice
insinuating into
his thoughts
deeper, deeper
settling in,
finding a place,
intruding.
William resisting,
but what was there
to resist?
"Classy suit" sang the janitor
"Look at you!
Dressed to the nines.
I'll bet that set you back a few bucks"
William's eyebrows rose and fell.
"Good to know the man
I'm on the journey with"
The janitor grinned.
"The journey WITH?"
“Looks like we’re on time. The time is right”
The janitor droned on.
"Bet you drive a BMW"
"Porsche" William corrected
"But why...."
The winter sun reddened and slipped
Through pewter clouds
The janitor's eyes moved to
William's feet
secure in his $1,000 shoes
his eyes piercing polished leather.
“Now those are one classy pair of shoes!”
William watched scuddering
Clouds, serious, thoughtful
The janitor chattered, muttered
William finally resisted, snapping, crying out
“Leave me alone. Be quiet…be quiet!”
“Bad mood?” mocked the janitor
"Look at you!
ALL DRESSED UP
LIKE A PRIZE TURKEY.
Like the prize in a
contest.
Much too well dressed
High and mighty
It will wear you out.
Your fancy shoes are too tight.
That must be it"
William stood. “That is enough.
I will find the conductor and complain!”
His voice haughty, proud, disgusted
His eyes like blue ice
“No” The janitor
Reaches and grabs the
narrow white wrist of the
Executive and tightens his grip
The executive stunned, shocked
"How dare you..."
“I said no” The janitor pulls the executive down
Back to his seat.
William finds his strength gone.
He cannot resist.
He doesn’t understand.
He submits.
Obeys.
He falls heavily to his seat.
The janitor continues talking, talking, talking…
“You are living the wrong life. That’s it.”
William leaned back
rested his silver head
and softly groaned.
"What? No, that's not it.
What....what do you WANT of me....?"
"Business school MBA?"
looking at William's ring.
"Yes"
William obediently responded.
The janitor's presence
poured through
the boundaries of
William's mind and heart.
Uninvited, streaming in,
a repellent invasion.
The janitor merrily chattered
"Too shiny, too expensive for you.
Those socks
are squeezing your ankles,
silk stretched over them.
Now why
do you pull them so tight?
That tie is squeezing your neck,
silk tied around it”
William had no choice.
He listened to this janitor humiliating,
Assessing him.
Like a prize horse,
taking him apart,
Piece by piece.
“That watch is squeezing your wrist,
gold wrapped around it.
Those pinstripes keep you
formal, uptight
Make anyone miserable.
Bad day”
William’s breath came in gasps.
Why didn’t he leave?
His body felt heavy.
His mind clouded.
But William snapped
“Long day. That’s all. My shoes are fine.
Too expensive?
Handmade for me.
My ankles are fine.
My neck is fine.
My wrist is fine.
Just a long day
Very long”
“Long day?” sang the man
"The time is right.
They can’t be fine if they don’t fit”
“Long day” said William
“Long week. Long month. Long….”
"Lemme see your teeth"
snapped the janitor.
"No" said William. "No, no...."
He opened his mouth, degraded
shocked.
"Thousands of dollars spent
on those fine white teeth!
Close your mouth now..."
William's mouth shut with relief.
The janitor opened a mouth full of broken yellowed teeth.
"Lemme see your hair"
He grabbed
William's carefully groomed head.
"All that silver belong to you?"
"Yes" said William. "Please"
Janitor's hands grab four inches of hair.
"Fine hair! All yours! A little TOO fine!"
William's humbled head fell
against the cold window.
"You just close your eyes.
Too shiny. Too expensive"
You need to sleep"
The janitor's voice melted and blended and
entered in.
"Sleep. Maybe I'll sleep. A while"
William adjusted the jacket
of his Brioni suit,
tightened his tie
checked the shine on his shoes
and let his shoulders
drop.
The janitor's voice
a soothing croon
invading his mind
roaming through his
inner life
An unwanted guest
that could not be
resisted.
"Put your head back.
Let what dreams may come.
The time is right.
The time is here"
The janitor's voice soft
The executive relaxed, nodded, dozed
The train rumbled, soothing
In its rush
Time dripped by drops
Falling, sliding, descending
into sleep
into dreams
down and down and down.
“Wake up”
The executive’s eyes opened
Heavy lids and dim lights
Winter country rushing by
He looked down, and stared
Shaking his head
To clear out what he saw
He looked down and stared, again
No, it isn’t real
No, it cannot be
No, it isn’t real
Yes….Yes…..It’s real
In the dim light
of the winter evening
on the 6:45
His hand rested on his leg
On rough, coarse cloth.
He was still almost asleep
Pulled at the cloth, confused,
Alarmed.
Woke himself up.
Slowly, slowly, then he saw…
He wore janitor’s coveralls
Yes, coveralls
On his long, lanky frame
Nothing else
His head shook feebly
Tangled, smothered by sleep
Confusion. What? What?
“Where are my…What?”
Wearing coveralls
"My suit. Where....?"
No pinstripes
No white shirt
William Prescott in
Menial workman's clothes
On the 6:45 to Ridgefield
He looked across, and stared, again.
The man
The janitor
But dressed to the nines
"My pinstriped suit. My suit" said William
his eyes glassy and stunned
The janitor was dressed in his own
Yes, William’s own
Brioni pinstriped
business suit
"My clothes..
you're wearing my...suit….my suit…my business suit…"
The man smiled.
“The name is Richard”
“But my SUIT!” gasped William. “MY SUIT”
William looked at his own
Paisley silk necktie
Impeccably tied
around the neck of the Other.
His own starched white shirt
His own Rolex on the other’s wrist
His own school ring on the other's finger
Eyes between stunned and disbelieving
Thoughts between chaos and shock
Wandered down
His own handmade-in-London
Black polished brogues
His own so-thin-you-can see-the-toes
black dress socks pulled tight
on the feet
Of the other man
With a shock he knows he is no longer
Wearing underwear
"You’ve been asleep a long time
Too long
A very long time"
William's heart choked with
sudden, stunned rage
But the anger shattered and
splintered into
Passive grief
William’s own feet
Bare, white, long, clean,
But the soles and heels on the dirty floor
Were no longer smooth and supple
Calloused, wrinkled, hardened
Feet resting naked on the floor
Of the 6:45 to Ridgefield
"My shoes and socks.
Gone. Nothing on my feet.
Nothing"
Heart pounding
thoughts, impressions
colliding, dissolving
Humbled, shamed feet
ached for his former shoes
Almost touched the polished leather
William Prescott
Barefoot
on the 6:45 to Ridgefield
“My shoes and socks….”
Richard smiled
“They would not fit
Your feet.
You’ve been asleep a long time
Too long
A very long time.
The time is right”
William gasped for air.
“They do not fit.
Cannot fit.
To dream of shoes”
William's mind reeled
and clashed and sank
confusion and fear
"They cannot fit
Your ankles are free"
William's eyes moved
Up and settled
At Richard's head of
Thick silver hair
Sharply parted
Corporate cut
Richard’s face was clean shaven
William's long, thin now-calloused hands moved to his
Own forehead, searching
With dirt ringed fingernails
But not finding
Soft silver hair
His own scalp now a smooth, clean dome
As naked as his feet
as naked as his wrist,
as naked as his ankles
"My hair. My hair" he whispered.
“I’m bald. Not a hair. Bald….”
Richard sang softly, mockingly
“Your hair. Your hair.
Where is your fine, full head of hair?”
His tongue searches his mouth to find
broken teeth and empty spaces.
"My teeth...."
William’s fingers moved to his throat
and found
a scruffy beard
where he had been shaved smooth
Always shaved smooth
Fingers explored further down
searching exposed skin
finding exposed throat.
Silk tieless
Richard gently mocked:
"Silver hair, clean face, necktie before,
Bald head, hairy face, naked neck now.
No necktie
Squeezing you now
Before and after"
“Before?” William whispered.
"But my pinstriped suit!" he said.
“What dreams may come”
Richard’s eyes wide
“Suits create arrogance.
No suit. No arrogance”
Richard stood taller, looming over
William's exposed white throat.
"Hair and perfect teeth create vanity.
No hair, ruined teeth, no vanity"
Vertigo of the mind
Melting, mixing, changing
Separating
The rush of the train
The soothing rumble
The business suit he had been
wearing that day
Walked in it proudly through
Offices and airports
Conferences and dinners
Navy pinstripes
Now worn by the other man
Pocket square, cufflinks
Gleaming English shoes
Mocking him
“You’ve been asleep a long time”
Said Richard
“A very long time
I know the
importance of time
as a VP of finance”
“What?” William whispered.
"You.."
“But it’s time to wake up Billy"
"Wake up?
"Floors to mop. To buff.
Toilets to clean”
"But that would make me a...."
whispered Billy.
"JANITOR.
Always have been.
Will be as long as you live."
A pair of dirty, worn
work boots
and white sweat socks
Were dropped.
"JANITOR.
Always have been.
Will be as long as you work."
“Put these on. Ridgefield next.
We can't have you walking on the
platform in your bare feet”
Ridgefield Platform
He stood there that morning
Pinstriped and overcoated
The handmade brogues
His feet clicking
As they did every morning
Or had he?
That morning
That week
That month?
Was that man him?
Was the man he now was
more or less him?
"White socks?" said Billy
White socks on the 6:45 to Ridgefield
Had he been wearing black dress
Brooks Brothers socks that day?
"Black dress socks are for offices
For expensive shoes and commuter trains
For business suits and dreams
But you must WAKE UP"
Richard picked up his briefcase
Straightened his tie
And folded his Wall Street Journal
Put on the cashmere overcoat
He pulled
Keys to the Porsche from the pocket of
the Brioni
“JANITOR.
Always have been.
Will be as long as you live, work and breathe.
I'll drive you to the warehouse
for the night shift”
Billy murmured
“My car. My Porsche…”
“Your what? You don’t even have a driver’s license!
Put those on.
What are you doing on this train barefoot!"
Billy tried to remember
Office, home, college,
Ambition, achievement, success.
Images glinted in his mind
Then broke apart and vanished.
“It never happened” said Richard
in his smooth, calming voice
“You never went to college.
You never were an executive
You never got married
You were never a success.
You never wear suits
You never even wear shoes
Unless you have to”
“I don’t wear shoes?
But my money..”
Billy reached slowly for William’s wallet
but the jumpsuit
had no pockets
Richard pulled out the wallet
credit cards
business cards
license
office ID
“They are all mine. All”
William dissolved in a pool
Of fragments.
"yes sir.
Sorry, sir. Please forgive me"
Richard stopped
Fastened a cufflink,
Glanced at WP
And Billy slid white feet
Into white socks and work boots and walked
After him into the night.
