Train Music

I miss the songs of the train stations on the Yamanote Line
Takadanobaba, Shin-Okubo, Shinjuku

I miss the cats yowling at three in the morning
They made their own music

before Gerritt poured water on them from the balcony above
I miss the supermarket cashiers who

wrap tampons delicately
and unnecessarily in brown paper bags

I miss the schoolgirls with their cell phones
dripping Disney

and my favorite pastime:
staring at shoes on the metro

I miss Ichigoya:
To Foreign Students we only sell hamburger on Sunday

I miss Haagen-Dazs runs and the fifth floor
and sushi that slides around on a conveyer belt

I miss the escalators in building 14
and temples snuggled among skyscrapers and neon signs

I miss the waiting in the genkan, mail in 214,
waving and greeting my way down Waseda-Dori

I miss the songs of Takadanobaba, Mejiro, Ikebukuro

I am reminded of the music because I have my clock
It’s green and shiny and round

and has a train making its way around the face
stopping at stations and listening

I miss the songs of the train stations on the Yamanote Line