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it was fourteen hours ago
Geoff
lost the train tickets
now
stranded in the countryside
a biting cold wrapping itself
around fliers and benches
up my legs into my jacket

hours passed
a young woman eyed us
inquisitively
two bedraggled men with slight
beards
dark eyes
she pushed her children to the end
of the station
Geoff smiled
I went back to counting bales

my plants need watering
Geoff says
I tell him he owns a cactus
he shrugs
it’ll be fine
whatever that means for you
I tell him

after another four hours
we go to the ticket counter
a new woman had stepped in
perhaps warned to not give us any attention

we explain the situation
my friend lost our tickets
we don’t have any cash
or plastic
show her your ID Geoff
we are who we say we are

what the fuck am I saying

she keeps on punching sepia paper
nodding sporadically as we talk
Geoff says he’ll scratch her back
if she scratches ours
like clockwork comes
I don’t itch