we're experiencing some delays

a train stops underground & becomes
a lady bug with seven spots. we cling
to her back as she walks on the ceiling
of the tunnel. the walls of our old house
were full of lady bugs & i thank her for
visiting the city. she flew all the way here
from pennsylvania. i thank her for 
good mothers. the other people who were
on the train car with me are startled.
the hallway shakes. we're in an air b&b now
& i'm making dinner for them. i'm telling them
a story about how scared i am of centipedes.
i'm shucking ears of corn. another man is 
standing by the counter. he is now my son
& i tell him he makes me so proud. he cries.
i hand him a knife & tell him it's time
he learned to carve the ham. we can't find
the ham so one of us lets loose a snake
hoping it will be drawn to the meat
but instead it just hides & we've lost
the ham & the snake. my son is 
dissappointed in me. i hate being
a father so we're on the sidewalk together.
someone opens their brief case to reveal
a pile of spoons. they clatter 
to the sidewalk. she plays the spoons
against her knee & i cover my ears.
the clacking reminds me of
horse hooves. we're on a horse
with eight legs & its scurrying down 
the dark tunnel. we al remember we just
want to go to work. that's all we
ever wanted & the horse is trying
to get us there. we cling tight
to the horse's long black mane.
a girl tells a story about being young
& collecting plastic horses. her collection
mobilizes to find her. they carry her
from our midst & we try to say goodybe 
but she covers her face & insists that
this is not the last time we'll see her
even though we do not know each other
& we do not want to know each other.
we're on the train again finally & 
the windows fog up with all our fears.
we draw pictures. i write heart after heart.
one man draws penis shapes. a girl
writes "none of this is true" over & over.
we want to stop her. we know it's
a spell but we don't want to accuse her
of being a witch. not after everything
we've been though. she is gorgeous.
we see out reflections underneath 
the fog & realize we weren't going
anywhere after all. we lay on the floor.
we sing songs in each other's voices.
the train starts up again & we plead
with it to stop. no no let us be no one.
let us do nothing forever. but the city
remembered us & to be remembered is 
that hardest burden to bear. i tell everyone 
they are brave. they hang their heads.
they say "we are not brave
we are experiencing some delays."