that’s the date in June 2010.
i want to differentiate
cause see i’ve talked of trains before.
in absolute way quiet three a.m.
that’s when they come, you know.
with first a subtle vibration in the tracks
from twelve to fifteen states away.
then i got up ate, slept and ate and drank and slept again.
three days later Goliath Machine approaches town,
of course total darkness.
not a star out tonight,
they only come like that, at night you know.
steam rolling vibrational thunder.
with a whistle
a warning
hear it
You
You there
I mean you
Take warning - Watch yourself,
I am coming.
shakes ducks eggs in the marsh
corn kernels rattle off cobs in the fields
and homes from their basements trough foundations vi-
vi-vi-vib—vib-vibrate.
god o’ mighty it’s Heavy Metal son of a bitch
clobbering everything.
i’m three blocks away from the tracks
and total down to dust destruction,
every home, bird’s nest and dog house
tween here and there destroyed
by the merciless rattling shakathon.
yet, like a mystery,
somehow
sleep comes,
deep mellowing sleep.
and then magically
when first bird tweets,
all is rebuilt by dawn,
everything, up and down the streets,
including fillings, crowns and molars replaced
and neighborhood groundhogs back in their burrows,
robins eggs return to their nests,
no cracks in the sidewalks, no more.
all is well again, healed by sight
of first morning light
when i awake and go to the window
and look out that way
to see what happened.
Showing posts with label trains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trains. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
soft night train
no screeching last night in quiet light wind
the train was someone in grandma’s slippers
sliding along the linoleum kitchen floor
hardly going anywhere
and the whistle was not a blaster
instead it gave soft puffs
like puh, with a long breath between the next muh,
mah, ma, as if needed to be picked up and cuddled
the train was someone in grandma’s slippers
sliding along the linoleum kitchen floor
hardly going anywhere
and the whistle was not a blaster
instead it gave soft puffs
like puh, with a long breath between the next muh,
mah, ma, as if needed to be picked up and cuddled
Labels:
trains
Saturday, July 26, 2008
train sounds
run to the stairs and hear the train
only softly it comes
a gentler horn sounds
softer than i have ever heard
it's like the Morse Code,
from the tapping of the horn
you can tell the nature
of the engineer
only softly it comes
a gentler horn sounds
softer than i have ever heard
it's like the Morse Code,
from the tapping of the horn
you can tell the nature
of the engineer
Labels:
trains
Thursday, June 19, 2008
lonesome train
sorting from cardboard boxes
not much to pack
last look around, a check of the time
then closing the door
locking sadness within
going home before the weather changes
the fields . . . he liked the rain
there's time to reflect
while watching dark clouds out the window
heavy steel rolls hard and smooth
and before the long night is through
i may see the moon
glide over town, yes
soon, real soon
a guy with an apron, a little blue hat
and a smile comes pushing a cart
down the isle
selling coffee and water
the same guy a half hour ago
was selling sandwiches
roses bloom in the rain
love is the same
nothing ventured, nothing gained
you can say that again
watching it rain
i hear her sweet laugh
while handing me a photograph
the moon rising through the glass
reflects on her behalf
she's painted and she's pretty
pressed against the window pane
the lady from Kansas City
takes my mind off everything
she can ride with me any time
on any old lonesome train
not much to pack
last look around, a check of the time
then closing the door
locking sadness within
going home before the weather changes
the fields . . . he liked the rain
there's time to reflect
while watching dark clouds out the window
heavy steel rolls hard and smooth
and before the long night is through
i may see the moon
glide over town, yes
soon, real soon
a guy with an apron, a little blue hat
and a smile comes pushing a cart
down the isle
selling coffee and water
the same guy a half hour ago
was selling sandwiches
roses bloom in the rain
love is the same
nothing ventured, nothing gained
you can say that again
watching it rain
i hear her sweet laugh
while handing me a photograph
the moon rising through the glass
reflects on her behalf
she's painted and she's pretty
pressed against the window pane
the lady from Kansas City
takes my mind off everything
she can ride with me any time
on any old lonesome train
Labels:
trains
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
the trains
the train rolls through at night
as it has all my life
and the whistle goes long and hard
dah-dah-dit-dah
i was an amateur radio fellow and learned
the morse code starting with that familiar letter q
there's a plaque in roma where sam morse lived eleven years
across the alley from our favorite luncheon spot, pasquali's
for me, the sign was a touch with home and the trains
if light winds blow up from the south and the bedroom window
is open the sound of the train whistle can wake me, shake me
most of the town, i am sure, curse when they fall out of bed with
the horn blast - morse code for the letter q
i asked my friend the engineer and he knew nothing about
the morse code, said the signal was not the letter q
just two longs, a short and a long
i thought the train signal began back when the
telegrapher was the wiry old man in the funny hat
who sat out there in the lonely shack and bridged east to
the west with information
i checked the internet and found the train whistle signals
have no connectin witht the morse code
except in the one coincidence, the instance of passing a crossing
a life long belief has shattered
and the late night trains roll on
long - long - short - long
as it has all my life
and the whistle goes long and hard
dah-dah-dit-dah
i was an amateur radio fellow and learned
the morse code starting with that familiar letter q
there's a plaque in roma where sam morse lived eleven years
across the alley from our favorite luncheon spot, pasquali's
for me, the sign was a touch with home and the trains
if light winds blow up from the south and the bedroom window
is open the sound of the train whistle can wake me, shake me
most of the town, i am sure, curse when they fall out of bed with
the horn blast - morse code for the letter q
i asked my friend the engineer and he knew nothing about
the morse code, said the signal was not the letter q
just two longs, a short and a long
i thought the train signal began back when the
telegrapher was the wiry old man in the funny hat
who sat out there in the lonely shack and bridged east to
the west with information
i checked the internet and found the train whistle signals
have no connectin witht the morse code
except in the one coincidence, the instance of passing a crossing
a life long belief has shattered
and the late night trains roll on
long - long - short - long
Labels:
trains
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