Again the metro

Strange as it may seem - besides the strident sound signaling the closing doors, the screeching of brakes, the announcements on the loud loudspeaker which intrude at times on the way- inside the crowded wagon it can be eerily silent.

So many human beings, packed in such a small place, yet silent, avoiding eye contact, suffering unavoidable physical contact, doing their best to seem indifferent.

And then a phone rings - some crazy ring tone breaks through the silence - a loud voice engages in an animate conversation in a foreign tongue.

Or a beggar walks up and down the aisle and recites some sad well rehearsed story in a whine.

Or a lousy accordion player steps in and offends a well know tune.

Or two women start to gossip at the top of their lungs, one keeping her eyes closed when she speaks.

Or a little girl chats away, taking no time to breathe and her mother doesn't listen.

Or an African family talks, talks, talks, in a mysterious dialect, as if seated around a village campfire. One speaks looking ahead, the other listens looking away.

Or a baby beings to cry.

Or a witless boy begins to howl.

Or an angry man begins to shout.

And then back to eery silence and indifference.