Friday, April 01, 2005

Friday Poetry Blogging: April Fools edition

A few years ago, the poet Edwin Morgan was commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council to write a series of poems for Glasgow's newly refurbished underground system. However, the first one posted caused such alarm among the riders that it was decided not to use them. Here is the poem:

The Subway Piranhas, by Edwin Morgan
Did anyone tell you
that in each subway train
there is one special seat
with a small hole in it
and underneath the seat
is a tank of piranha-fish
which have not been fed
for quite some time.
The fish become agitated
by the shoogling of the train
and jump up through the seat.
The resulting skeletons
of unlucky passengers
turn an honest penny
for the transport executive,
hanging far and wide
in medical schools.