Carriage 3 - The silent carriage.
That’s them, the people of carriage 3!
Soundlessly they board the 7:42 from Basingstoke
Not saying a word- It fits
Silent people for the silent carriage.

They have a connection- all together.
A bond of no words unites every one of them,
They are one- simultaneously typing, reading or staring;
They spend the hour or so to the capital
Part of the silent community of carriage 3.

But if you dare to sit in Carriage 3,
While chattering heedlessly away on a phone
Or engaged in another occupation
Where any form of talk happens to occur
You are an outsider to be got rid of by the people of Carriage 3.

These quiet people take it in turns to eject a violator
To them- it is a duty, and an important one.
The rightful purging of sinners
Sinners who have dared to speak in a sea of silence
From the sacred grounds of Carriage 3.

First it’s the disapproving stares from everyone.
Then the stares turn hostile, enraged and angry.
If you have not got the message by then,
Too engrossed in heaps of gossip to care
The people of Carriage 3 go into phase two.

Phase 2: one of them stands, and points
Finger jabbing at a clear sign on a wall
That reads, ‘No talking in the Silent Carriage’
Still- no sound is uttered, not even a ‘shhh’
From the dedicated members of the silent carriage.

Phase 3 is simple: another member taps your arm
Leads you gently, yet firmly down the aisle
To the door, leading to carriage 4.
Then that member walks back to his seat with pride.
Thankful, jubilant (and inaudible) looks are passed between
The silent people of Carriage 3.

Carriage 3- the silent carriage
That’s them- the people of carriage 3
Noiselessly they board the 21:12 at Waterloo
Not saying a word- it fits
Silent people for the silent carriage.