I'll See You at Christmas

"I'll see you at Christmas."
Black heels click up subway steps
Search for a lonely window seat and stare out
As the world begins to inch away
At the face of a friend or a lover,
A sibling, a mother, acquaintance
No tears fall onto the platform
They turn and are gon and you sit alone
While your past and present are replaced by the future
Through a thick glass pane
The world changes out the window as it always has
But in fast forward.
The autumn leaves make a tremendous metamorphosis
And die with grace
Only to be trampled by ignorant passer-bys.
There are no carefree children playing in leaf piles
But you're too big for such things anyhow.
You are destined to be one of the world
One of the snails blindly sliming from one day to the next
The voices of Paul McCartney and John Lennon
Repeat between your temples
"Once there was a way to get back home,
Once there was a way to get back home"
But you know the way back is lost
Or at least, you'll never find it
And as that one line plays
Over and over
In your mind,
You want to scream
You want to burst into the conductor's booth and shout,
"Stop the train!"
You would lacerate his face with your nails at his refusal
Wild as a jaguar
Because he can't stop the train
And you are completely trapped,
Moving towardsa a future you never chose,
Silent and submissive among blank strangers.