[304] The Subway Piranhas

Guest poem sent in by Vikram Doctor <vikdoc@>

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 quite 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.

      -- Edwin Morgan

Some years ago, Edwin Morgan was commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council
to write a series of poems for the inauguration of Glasgow's refurbished
Underground system. He sent this sample, which sent such alarm through the
Strathclyde transport executive that they decided against using the poems.

from Poems On The Underground

Even London Underground didn't dare to use the poem - its only given in the
anthology's notes. I was reminded of it both by the Morgan poem you gave,
and by a trip last week to Calcutta. Passing the entrances to the Calcutta
Metro, I couldn't help remembering that Calcutta is also the centre of
India's thriving human skeleton export trade...

Vikram

From: Mazfulton@

I was recently given some of edwin morgans poems to read by a college tutor  
including advice to read this one too ...he thought I would enjoy them as they 
 are based on "my neck of the woods".........now that I have ......I just 
don't  get them........I am from the west of scotland.....and have spent a lot of 
time  in and around glasgow and the people and to be brutally honest none of 
his poems  reflect the area in my eyes........maybe I'm just not cultured or 
intelligent  enough to understand them .......but I do know that the average 
Joe on the  streets of glasgow would ......'laugh their heeds aff' at this 
....as I  did......