He’s watching videos of Serena Williams
on his smartphone on the last train to Manchester
from London Euston on a Thursday evening.
It’s a compilation of all her greatest tennis shots.
I cannot hear the sound of her striking the balls
or grunting or yelling or panting her way
to becoming the greatest tennis player of her
generation because he has his headphones
in his ears and he’s tutting at the sound
of the train driver announcing we’re 20 minutes
late and I have my own headphones in my ears
playing the soundtrack of the Pixar film Up
and I’m looking at the man next to me
wondering how we’d both cope floating away.

Carl Burkitt 2024