Using public transport
is more often trial than joy,
but today behind me on the bus
I heard a little boy

sitting on his mother’s lap,
face against the glass,
calling names of vehicles
whenever they went past.

Cars, he didn’t bother with;
he wanted things like “truck”
“ambulance” and “caravan”
or “double-decker bus”.

Then we stopped by a building site –
his poor brain overloaded.
So many names burst out of him,
I thought that he’d exploded.

“Forklift truck!” he screamed with glee.
“Lorry – cement mixer!
Caterpillar truck! A crane!
Van! Bulldozer! Digger!”

It made the whole bus smile.
And me? I wished I shared his luck –
to have a child’s uncomplicated life,
the joy of trucks.