Eurostar

Eurostar

In the buffet car
An American lady in a loudly printed dress
With matching painted cheeks
Convinced the French waiter will understand
The louder she speaks
Orders still water

Then, shouting at him, asks
"IN LONDON - STILL WATER - IN PARIS - STILL WATER?"

I don't understand. Neither does he
So she asks once again even more loudly

"STILL STILL WATER IN PARIS?"

The queue is building up
Wishing she would hurry up
So, trying to get her to go
I tell her she should ask for "de l'eau sans gaz"

She turns on me her razmattaz
"JUST LIKE SPANISH!"
Beaming and happy she seems satisfied
She's crap at languages but at least she tried
And in Paris she'll speak Spanish to the French

The train is full of tourists like some international convention
Must be part of a package, a European tour
People take photos of each other going through a door
Sitting in their seats
Walking down the aisles
Riding on the Eurostar wearing holiday smiles

And for a moment I can see
Through tourist eyes
How Europe must seem to be

On the other side we're spewed out of a bare grey hole
Wasteland, naked fields, industry
In fact, apart from the pylons
Because there are more
It looks exactly the same as it did before
We entered the tunnel

Have we really crossed the channel?
It's hard to believe
Though they could not deceive us
Forever

Juno