churchgate fast

On the very edge

of platform number two

at goregaon station

on the western line

is a wooden bench that seats five.

There are four women on this bench

and a puddle

in place of the fifth.

Right now is not a good time for benches

or cats

or you

if you do not like mud.

They have managed to place a crack

just so

(in what passes as a roof)

So that you are trapped

quite neatly

between a downpour

and a very damp place.

If it is a slow train you are waiting for

you can join the huddle

that stands in for a line

and be whisked away

in the most sluggish of whisks

and hope 
that when you arrive

It will be dry.

But if you wish to get there quickly

You must stay put

on the bench that seats five.

while the rain claims the fourth occupant

and then the third

and then the second

until it is just you.