Empty

 

Bentleigh: lonely streets - QR squares along the length of platforms – big skies – three passengers per carriage – eyes averted. McKinnon: apartment building sites – ‘You must wear a face mask while travelling’ – empty platform - empty coffee cups. Ormond: ‘It’s never okay to abuse transport staff’ – a seat of girls read their phones – ‘Lift to Way Out’. Glenhuntly: palm tree colonnades – supermarket trolleys abandoned on nature strips – ‘Boom gates gone by 2023’ – tram square rumble. Caulfield: empty shops – empty university – empty racecourse – empty windows – empty CCTV. Malvern: sunburnt agapanthus – arduous ramps – ‘Please don’t run in the station’ – masks under chins – pigeons cooling heels wait for crumbs. Armadale: construction zone – empty café – dead plants in bluestone planters. Toorak: someone who looks a bit like Frida Kahlo – cactus flowers – oleander explosions. Hawksburn: bird on a wire – message on overhead ‘Remember to keep Covid safe.’ South Yarra: Metro trackwork mazes – empty apartments – ‘Get our app’ – more chinless wonders. Richmond: ‘Find out if these disruptions affect you.’ – someone who looks a bit like Ho Chi Minh reads his phone with his index finger – ‘Exit major sporting events only’. Flinders Street: shadowy figures – concourse crisscross - closed takeaways – ‘There has been a platform change.’ – full screen pixel adverts. Southern Cross: ‘Authorised officers travel on this vehicle.’ Flagstaff: someone looking a bit like Dennis Lillee readjusts his mask. Melbourne Central: Mr. No Mask Ghetto Blaster finally exits. Parliament: ‘We’re deep-cleaning and disinfecting this vehicle every day.’ Jolimont: rolling advertisements going nowhere. West Richmond: empty offices – full-blown oleanders. North Richmond: red bin yellow bin red bin yellow bin – someone who looks a bit like Linda McCartney sleeps on a bench out of the sun. Collingwood: surgical masks abandoned on empty platform – timeless townhall clock. Victoria Park: temporary fencing – empty grandstands – moderate freeway. Clifton Hill: huddle of ticket inspectors – ‘Keep your distance where you can’ – traffic movie Hoddle Street. Westgarth: florid graffiti – unattended mirrors. Dennis: gum leaves carpet – brown dawdling dog sniffs about. Fairfield: shopping trolleys dead on their sides – outdated Christmas decorations. Alphington: hot red glare – level crossing clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang. Darebin: ramshackle building site – empty waiting room. Ivanhoe: corona crossword puzzle QR codes on railings – coughing behind masks – ‘No smoking’. Eaglemont: sunburnt shrubbery – empty public phone booth.