On the evening train,
rocking, rattling in darkness,
escaping the confines of the city:
old man scowling at the business section of the paper;
weary woman staring at the floor
    after a day of changing sheets and wiping out tubs;
young man with tattooed sleeves
    meeting rebounding glances with defiance;
mother warily covering her baby's head
    as if to shield it from the dis-ease of humanity:

you are our family,
and together we will ever be,
ever one family.

Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.