bus-ku
great big yellow bus
new shoes bouncing kids drivers
joy tears school’s coming
—
‘you can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.’
-carol ann duffy
best ride in (and out of) town
after the tigers game last weekend
I planned to hop on the d2a2 bus
take it back from detroit to ann arbor
best thing on wheels
4 dollars, always on time,
very friendly drivers
a/c, wifi, comfy seats
no parking, gas, traffic, getting lost, construction
45 minute drive
12 minute walk to my house
except….
when we walked over to find the bus
it wasn’t there
only thing there
was an Indian trails bus
right in the usual spot where the d2a2 bus sits
we waited a bit and a bit more
finally checked my phone again
as the bus started to pull out
only to see
they were using Indian trails
for this time only
so I actually fully sprinted
(very rare for me)
put my hand up
stopped the bus
(kind of like that final scene in ‘the graduate’)
stood at the door knocking
( a tiny sign on the door said it was acting as an a2d2 bus)
jumped on
the driver said
just take a seat
pointing with his driving gloves
giving the peace sign to other buses we passed
we shot off down the road
back in Ann Arbor in 45 minutes
very close call
who knew I could stop a bus?
but I was motivated.
—
‘when you are already in detroit, you don’t have to take a bus to get there.’
-ram dass
as another school year
draws to a close
my time on the bus
is almost over
and
i think
i’ll miss
all the action:
who sits with who
who lost their coat
who forgot their bag
who needs a band-aid
who has the wrong bag
who sat by the window last
who didn’t bring their boots
who has trouble sitting at all
who was supposed to stay at school
who is crying, laughing, squealing, bouncing?
it might be me.
—
“i’d rather go by bus.”
– prince charles
‘ i’d rather go by bus.” – prince charles
—
my subaru tribe
has come through once again.
after dropping my car off for service
they offered me a ride home
on their courtesy shuttle
i was happy to hop on the bus.
it was
the three of us
myself
happy driver carl
and
quiet student tim
from the university music school
bus mates through circumstance.
we struck up a conversation
i asked tim what he planned to do
after music school
he said everyone asks him that
i told him not to worry
about what people say
he’d find a way
to use what he loves
to do something he loves.
my own school, life, career
had taken many
unexpected and interesting turns
somehow
i always landed
exactly where i was meant to be.
carl said he knew someone
connected to my old career in advertising
how he liked driving the bus
how he still gets lost sometimes
how he enjoys meeting people
how the street we were driving on
has three different names.
i talked about
working with kinders
how they are so open to music
uninhibited
how they think i’m a good singer
how i still get lost a lot.
tim told us
how he loves subarus too
how writing music
playing saxaphone
makes him feel
what it was like moving here
from the east coast
how he still gets lost.
and
then suddenly
i was home.
tim said
‘you’ve really made me feel better.
i somehow feel like i’ll find my way and there’s hope for me after all.’
carl asked if i needed a ride back
i almost wished i did
it was a good 3 mile trip.
—
“you can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.”
– carol ann duffy
—
image credits: google.com, subaru motors