Scuffle on the Underground

The crowded trains
the need for space
the endless crush
of the human race
a race against time
a race against waste
a race erased on every face
by frowns and fears
and jokes and jeers
till thinly veiled
wrath
breaks through
a cough
a sneeze
a dread disease
a shout
release
a fist finds space
then silence falls
and words replace
the thin veneer
of the human race…