The Subway System

‘The Subway System’ is a poem from Bel Schenk’s groundbreaking verse novel Every Time You Close Your Eyeswhich is set across two blackouts in New York. The first is the famous blackout of 1977, when this excerpt is set, and which was remembered for widespread looting and arson. The second blackout, in 2003, forms a counterpoint – but you’ll have to read the book to find out more!

 

The Subway System

People on the platform recall the location
of the exit light’s glow and follow the sound
and energy made by the movements of others.
If you’re a reliable sort you give directions
to anyone who will follow and anyone who will trust.
The rats are hushed.
There seems no need to scurry under the railings.
The A train is somewhere under the city.

There, deep beneath earth and concrete,
under grass and overhead footsteps,
people are stuck inside the carriage.
They hold things, feel their dirty way.
Shit, yes, it’s dark. No sir, you can’t see. You can’t see.
Inside the people, blood rises and falls,
breathing grows faster. Shallow.
Deep inside is exactly what you are thinking right now.

Read more of Bel’s beautiful verse in Every Time You Close Your Eyes here, or Ambulances and Dreamers here.

'The Subway System' from Every Time You Close Your Eyes by Bel Schenk