Escalation
Climbing up
the down escalator.
Mounting anticipation,
you are somewhere up there.
Start off at full speed
but by half way flagging.
No longer the energy
to climb further against
the downward flow of stairs.
Then spot you
coming down the up escalator.
You begin to stall, too.
To my dismay, standing
face to face
on adjoining escalators,
we slowly drift apart.
You back up, me back down.
You also look distraught
but, suddenly,
realize it isn’t you, after all.
The face is beautiful,
but not yours.
Ooh I had Paddington Bear in my head – sorry – I remember something about a suitcase containing bacon and a following of hungry dogs on the London Underground! Back to the poem … for me I didn’t need the last stanza and it would be a real challenge to do it without using the word “escalator” in the body of the poem – ooh and did I say that I enjoyed reading it so thank you.
Ah, Sarah, I’m not sure which of us is the madder – me raving on about escalators & you burbling on about Paddington! (I did enjoy the film).
I see what Sarah means about losing the last stanza but, on the other hand, I like the twist at the end in the final two lines. Could you perhaps tighten the first three lines of the last stanza? I enjoyed reading it, thank you.