London Train Poem by David Lewis Paget

In one of those fogs of London
I boarded the East End train,
The mist was a yellow, evil smog
And then it began to rain.
I found a compartment, only two
To bother my peaceful ride,
And placed my case at my feet, in place
With my gold-blocked name outside.

The smell of the fog was drifting in
And burning my eyes and throat,
I said to the man, ‘Let fresh air in…'
He sat and buttoned his coat.
‘The air out there is as bad as in, '
He said with a scowl and stare,
‘You might be happy to sit and choke,
The window stays up, I swear.'

I leant well back, and looked at the girl
Who sat there, opposite me,
She wore her skirt right up to the hip,
I stared at her stockinged knee,
Her eyes were bright, an emerald green
But tears I saw on her cheek,
‘This fog, ' she muttered, and wiped them dry,
‘I think it was worse last week.'

‘But London's always suffered from fog, '
I ventured, ‘Back in the day,
The Ripper used it to hide his crimes,
He used it getting away.'
‘Overblown, ' he said, the man in the coat,
‘There's many was worse than he,
The blood ran thick in the gutters here
At times in our history.'

‘But he's the one who never got caught,
You must at least give him that.'
The man slunk down in his corner seat,
Then sat, and played with his hat.
The girl just smiled, and said in a while,
I think you're right, he's the one,
I wouldn't like, on a foggy night
To meet him, minus a gun.'

The man reached into his overcoat
And seized the girl with a sigh,
Holding a cut-throat razor to
Her throat, with a smile so sly.
‘I said I'd never do this again
But I must admit, I lied,
I noticed the name on your carry case,
You're Jekyll, I see - I'm Hyde! '

10 December 2016