On the train the woman standing

Rankine uses the movement of the train as a metaphor for how people move through their lives, particularly regarding their understanding of race and racism. While the train functions as a physical, concrete aspect of the poem, it is useful to read it as a metaphorical image each time it occurs. In the first line of the poem, the speaker says, “On the train the woman standing makes you understand there are no seats available” (Line 1). Immediately, the “woman standing” (Line 1) is positioned, through her behavior, as the director of the physical space of the train. This implies that the woman standing is white, in particular because of the power she carries “on the train” (Line 1).

The next mention of the train is in Line 12: “You sit next to the man on the train, bus, in the plane […].” The list continues, suggesting that the “train” is a space that reflects all public, moving spaces where people interact. Further, the speaker’s location as sitting “next to the man” (Line 12) reflects how the speaker feels kinship and protection in her relationship with this man. The implication is that both the speaker and the man are Black, as opposed to the woman mentioned previously.