I lie in Corporate cleanliness
Another night, another town
Sanitised box bed, in sanitised box room
Bereft of comforts for weary hearts
Missing the homeliness of familiar faces,
The tenderness of soft skin,
The welcome kiss after the hard day is done


Traffic noise permeates the window vents
Dulling the hum of the air-con high up
No children's laughter
No bedtime stories to read
No hungry mouths to feed
Just the pitter-patter of rain
Merged with TV sounds and corridor footsteps
Of other souls lost in the day-to-day

Empty shelving barely used
Solitary chair in the corner
One room like the next, and the next
Housing cloned bedding and linen
Used once then off for wash
While at home the same gets used again and again
Harbouring familiar smells of loved ones


The breakfast room fills with shirts and ties
All sitting one to a table.
Some sit and read the paper
Some sit and talk on the phone
Some just sit
No acknowledgement of eachother's existance.
Another day, another journey.