Night Train by Gargi Harithakam

an endless swamp
of thousand incoherent
broken discontinuous
sleeps
a dark grey noise
a thousand people
in sleeper coaches
in a moving train.

it stops,
(pausing a giant cradle)
someone new enters
the lights are on
she is waiting for a ticket examiner

eyes closed,
everyone waits
waits
unbearable light — eyes hurt
bodies grow restless, tired, irritated, hopeless
and someone says ‘would you please put
off the light?’,
finally.

it took a moment.

and everyone back to the
huge lone swamp,
of broken sleep —
peacefully
in a night train.

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