Life on the MBTA: Haikus by the Homeless

1.
Out at Riverside
Green line cars line up to make
The run to Boston

2.
With a screech, a train
Of red cars sneak round the bend
Into south station

3.
Why do you have to
Push a button near the door
To board the blue line?

4.
If you see something,
Say something! If I hear that
Once more I will puke

5.
Which green line train goes
All the way north to Lechmere
B, C, D, or E?

6.
Though the silver line
Goes to Dudley from downtown
It is not a train

7.
At park street over
How do you get on foot from
Green line south to north?

8.
In New York City
The thing is worse! Rats I heard
Patrol the platforms

9.
In a whirl of snow
One barely sees the red train
Cross the Neponset

10.
The T is not fare
They charge us for their mistakes
Please, give us a break!

11.
Random hands touch me
My body tenses each time
Kicks and fists solve this

12.
Clack, clickety clack
Rattle, role away we go
And there goes my back

13.
Red line, blue line…fine
But I need the orange line
Wrong station? Oh great…

14.
Behind yellow lines
Obeying faceless voices
No train coming now

15.
Words scrolling in red
“Train to Boston not moving”
A cold breeze creeps by

16.
A tattered green bill
Peering out from rusty tracks
Bracing for the train

17.
Breathing down my neck
No, you can’t have my number
Sigh* Green line problems

18.
All eyes face the road
As bus 10 creeps round the bend
Relief is exhaled

19.
Resting on a hill
Warm light cradles my body
Counting my blessings

20.
Communication
All the way there and back now
Be polite to all!

21.
Attention Riders!
The song replays in my head
Even in my sleep

22.
The train car went dark
The black cold air filled my lungs
What is it this time?

23.
In the freezing dawn
A disabled train ahead
Go big or go home

24.
Who designed this thing?!
Some hacker at MIT
While riding the T

24 Haiku’s written at a homeless workshop at Common Place. Each Haiku was written by a different individual, all of whom prefer to remain anonymous members of the Oasis Coalition.

(Want to write a haiku about life in transit in Boston? Email them to editor@sparechangenews.net. We’ll publish the best ones in the next issue!.)