subway systems from contingency by alyssa kai

my heart is an express train rolling south through 68th
left & right the local trains are slowing on their way
weaving in & out of me as I go rolling by
left & right from either side like flashbulbs shooting out of time
the slightest spark will drag the dark to light

you wanna know if I'm alright just look
I'm an apple of your eye I am an open book
pull me off the shelf when we're apart
you'll see all you need to see but you'll never see my heart
you might make it to the station but you'll miss the subway car

when I get depressed (by which I mean when I am tired & awake) I crane my neck & take the train. you never really know if the train is going inbound to oak grove, or the train's going inbound to forest hills, or the train's going outbound to forest hills, or the train's going outbound to oak grove. you gotta watch & wait. & shuffle your feet up to the bumpy yellow edge of the warning track & wait. & hear the train rumble like arrival like survival coming to rest. I will tell you honestly (as honestly as I can):

I have never jumped in front of my heart yet

• Contemporary Christian
• Folk
• anti folk
• avant folk
• Greenfield