Poem
Full Marks
Form
Contemporary
Year
2026
The console blinks red.
He eases off.
Thinks about his bonus.
Behind him, two voices.
In his mirror, two faint blobs.
One with shopping bags, heavy,
pulling one shoulder down.
One with an umbrella,
leaning into each step.
True anger now.
He turns around. Briefly.
A good samaritan offers his seat.
They ignore him.
Someone raises a phone.
Then another.
The seat still empty.
He faces the road.
The console no longer red.
He does the math.
His hand tightens on the wheel.
Says nothing.
In the last row, a child watches.
The shopping bags.
The umbrella.
The phone screens.
The empty seat.
The driver's back.
In her school bag —
full marks for listening comprehension.
Full marks for oral.