Werner Herzog’s Dispiriting Haikus for the New York Subway
Life’s pointless anguish in 17 syllables
Published in
1 min readOct 28, 2023
We rush to our doom
Realizing too late that
We’re on the express
The brakes screech and squeal
But at least I can’t hear the
Screaming in my head
What is that dripping
On the floor from that man’s pants
I hope it’s soda
A packed subway but
Everyone alone with their
Annoying earbuds
The tunnels are dark
And full of secrets like why
No trains are coming
The platform smells like
Shame, regret, and misery
But also urine
Frozen sewage thaws
In the Spring when you can smell
Everyone sweating
You can’t understand
The conductor’s announcement
Fueling your panic
Filthy seats stick to
My skin or else I am the
Filth that sticks to them
Conductor walks past
So I think no one’s driving
We’re going to die
More from James Klein:
