On the Train  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from On the Train (poem)) Jump to: navigation,
search  "On The Train" is a poem by Gillian Clarke. Its chief
subject matter is the Paddington rail crash and its aftermath.
The poem imagines commuters on the train heading towards the
"bone-ship" and refers to the anxiety of passengers and loved
ones alike in the days following the disaster. Clarke uses the
technology of 1999 to ground her poem in reality - the mobile
phones of the victims lie in the wreckage of the train while
their friends and family frantically try to ring them. She
quotes the phrase:  "The Vodafone you are calling  May have been
switched off.  Please call later."  This everyday phrase takes
on a new, more sinister meaning in context. Clarke concludes the
poem by taking a lenient view, post-Paddington, of train
passengers who make mobile phone calls - they no longer seem
irritating, merely essential for reassuring people that they are
still alive.  This poem was written soon