Mind The Gap (IP)

Have you dropped your shoe down there,
or flip-flop, through the gap?
Have you had to find the guard
to fish to reach your purse or cap
with stick and hook while watched by all,
blushing in embarrassed flap?

Those incidents that I remember
(not me! – my sister, daughter!)
they were in days of steam or diesel,
when things could be retrieved more easil-
-y, than must be now the case where lines electric
make wielding hooks more dangerous
even for guards,
– presumably the rescue now is far more problematic.

So as the train comes to a stop –
“Mind the Gap!
Mind the Gap!”
Your bits and pieces firmly grip
don’t let them drop, from fingers slip,
and as you step
be careful not to stumble,
catch your heel and trip,
alight aright
and hold on tight,
so shoe and bag won’t vanish under:
a mortifying blunder!