I stood one day at the station

Waiting for a train to arrive

At Paddington that day on the board display ‘1’ minute to go caught my eye I stood watching the digit '1'

Waiting for the train to run

Plucking the courage to throw myself

In front of it, if it ever did come

I counted to ‘1’ a thousand times

And all that time blinked just the digit ‘1’

I prayed to each god, begging one and all That a train would come Did they hear me at all?

A rail worker called on the speaker too loud A ‘correction’ announced to a desperate crowd Indeed a train had decided to run It would be here, probably in ‘1’

Then they displayed the digit ‘1’

So I counted to ‘1’ a thousand times

And all that time blinking, just the digit ‘1’

I was beginning to wonder how I would survive That’s when the railway poet arrived…

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