Skip to main content
The Last Bus Home
by Steve Harrison

Somewhere in that gentle breather
between caring and being cared for,
you get a bus pass.
Join a frugal gang of off-peak free trippers,
reclaim the daylight-safe city streets,
freshly scrubbed from last night’s shenanigans.
I get on the 9:45 X5 to Shrewsbury
The Driver doesn’t look up to check my age
(Bastard!)
In my memory redundant gun-slinger conductors
still swagger the aisle,
criss-crossed with cowhide straps,
bandolier change-dispenser
balancing a ticket machine cocked and thumb trigger high.

The ghost of my friend Roger Rycroft shares
the vibrating seat at the front and explains
the gear changes by the noise and quiet
of the School Bus transmission system.
Doris struggles with her shopper’s wheels
to enjoy the smiles of welcome.
Billy the Quiff skips on at Atcham
catwalks the bus
reclaims the back seat from his youth
leaves a trail of over-optimistic aftershave. 
Tartan trolleys, wagons circled in the luggage space,
uncurl and alight to re-stock
with bargain beans and smoky bacon bits.
Return timetables are checked twice.

The last bus home leaves much, much earlier now.

Donate to the Fighting Fund
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
CONFRONTING HOMOPHOBIA: (L) FCB Cadell, The Boxer, c.1924; (
Exhibition review / 21 March 2025
21 March 2025
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
BLOOD ON THE TRACKS: Xilun Sun as the mysterious interloper
Film of the Week: / 20 March 2025
20 March 2025
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
Short Story / 7 February 2025
7 February 2025
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
Frantz Fanon at a press conference during a writers' confere
BenchMarx / 28 January 2025
28 January 2025
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
Similar stories
21st Century Poetry / 19 February 2025
19 February 2025
by Jude Price
21st Century Poetry: / 18 September 2024
18 September 2024
by PIPPA LITTLE
Pro-immigration supporters outside the Holiday Inn Express i
21st Century Poetry / 7 August 2024
7 August 2024
by Matthew Paul
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a school destroyed in an
21st Century Poetry / 31 July 2024
31 July 2024
by Sohail Salem