The Man on the Train
A poem by poet Allison Muncy
There was a man once
His wife had left him years ago
His children were all grown up
With families of their own
They never called him
Never showed up for holidays
Or his birthday
He lived alone in a small apartment in Denver
He never cleaned it
Trash littered the place
A half eaten pizza on his dinner table
Cups and bottles everywhere
Clothes on the floor
The air inside of it was gray
He didn’t have any friends
He got drunk every night at the closest bar
Just to feel something
But when he got home
He felt so empty
So alone
He had no one
He let his hair grow out to his waist
His ex-wife hated when his hair was long
He never took care of it
Because no one takes care of him
One night he had to get out of Denver
Outside of the confinement of his small apartment
He didn’t have a car
So he took the Light Rail somewhere he’d never been before
He wasn’t sure where he was going
Just anywhere he and his wife hadn’t been
He needed to forget for a night
Other than getting drunk
He called everyone he knew
Hoping someone would answer
He paced around in the train
No one picked up
He hung his head in disappointment
He just wanted one person who would take him in
Who’d listen
Who’d care