Michael Rosen
The bus goes on Words by Michael Rosen Illustration by Dan Berry
The bus goes on and it’s full and it’s leaving and it’s laughing and it’s going on and it’s morning and it’s evening and it’s in Punjabi and it’s daytime and it’s full and it stops and it’s suspicious and it starts and it’s in Ibo and it’s shouting and it’s shopping and it’s rapping and it’s lit up and it’s dark and it’s ‘Shove up!’ and it’s crying and it’s squealing and it’s in Dutch and it’s braking and it’s in Geordie and it’s at the station and it’s skint and it’s full of babies and it’s full of men and it’s going on and it’s past the Vietnamese café and it’s past the tyre depot and it’s past the silver car and its chauffeur and it’s waiting for Sinatra to start up and it’s in patois and it’s chips and vinegar and it’s past the park and it’s full of football and it’s a bellyache and it’s full of jokes and it’s scared and it’s in Arabic and it’s back from school and it’s pushing and it’s raining and it’s ripe armpits and it’s ‘tranks’ and it’s angry and it’s full of yesterday and it’s riding under the lights and it’s pissed off and it’s smell of oil and it’s lean and it’s combing and it’s kissing and it’s packets of rice and it’s cassava and it’s over the canal and it’s the baby’s bottle and it’s over the railway and it’s under the cranes and it’s in the shadows of the palaces in glass and it’s in Albanian and it’s bleach and it’s the homework in late and it’s spuds and it’s the hijab and it’s shoulders next to back next to fronts and it’s revving and it’s too late and it’s too early and it’s not enough and it’s going on and it’s on time and it’s dreaming and it’ll get there today and it’ll get there tomorrow… This poem is from Hackney Streets, a play for voices, which was adapted in 2011 into a film called Under the Cranes by Michael’s wife, Emma-Louise Williams. Emma has chosen the poem on Michael’s behalf as it expresses an optimism and belief in people, a celebration of diversity and hope for the future. Michael is recovering from coronavirus. Get well soon, Michael. educate Your magazine from the National Education Union (NEU)
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