Strange Place

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