DAVID I. HUGHES
The Unclaimed Bag
It sits where the platform thins,
not blocking, not belonging.
Black nylon, the soft give
of something half-filled.
No one announces it.
The crowd edits itself around
this absence of claim—
a choreography learned elsewhere.
A shoe nudges it once, lightly,
as if checking for sleep.
Nothing answers.
Announcements continue: delays,
apologies, a voice trained
to sound unconcerned.
The bag does not interrupt the schedule.
Someone stands closer than they need to,
then farther away than makes sense.
Phones lift, lower.
The bag remains untranslated.
Eventually, a hand appears—
gloved, official, almost tender.
The bag is lifte,
and the space it occupied exhales.
No one claps.
No one asks what it was.
We resume our places,
grateful not to have learned.
David I. Hughes is a British writer based in Cornwall. His work explores attention, place, and the quiet dramas of everyday life. His poetry and essays have appeared in literary journals in the UK and US, and he has been shortlisted for several international prizes.
It's not easy getting a book or pamphlet accepted for review these days. So in addition to the regular review section, the One Poem Review feature will allow more poets' to reach a wider audience - one poem featured from a new book/pamphlet along with a cover JPG and a link to the publisher's website. Contact the editor if you have released a book/pamphlet in the last twelve months or expect to have one published. Details here
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