Today I saw
a woman lying halfway up an escalator
she was curled on her side, like she was sleeping
She didn’t move at all
I was alerted to her presence
as I stood at the check-out paying for two air-fresheners
by the cashier
who neither acknowledged my presence
nor made eye contact with me
as she scanned my items
she was looking over my shoulder
and I heard her softly say
“that woman …”
I turned and walked out
and sure enough
that woman
was lying down
while halfway up an escalator
which had been stopped and a concertina-like barrier erected
to prevent anyone stepping on
two people were with her
holding phones
hoping they would
tell them what to do
about a lady lying down on an escalator
in a busy suburban shopping centre
while all around people
bought their groceries
with covered faces
and all I could think was
what a strange, surreal place for a life to leave a body
Today I saw
a twelve-pack of bottled water
shrink-wrapped in turtle-killing plastic
by the side of the footpath on the grass
brand new and unopened
and I thought
what a strange place
for something to land
it can’t have fallen off a truck
and I paused my stride
no one else around
except a steady stream of cars
on this busy street
and I thought
“could I?”
“It’s free water”
“The plastic is cooking in this direct winter sun”
“I better not”
“I don’t need any trouble”
“Although, it is just lying here”
“How long’s it been here?”
“How long will it be here for”
No, I better not”
“It’s heavy anyway, and I’m still a block from home”
“I don’t need any trouble”
I walked on
A man comes out of a house across the road
in business slacks and shirt and tie
Unusual attire for a suburban street
and he runs across the road and picks up the water
and I think
what a strange place to leave bottles of water
