daily bread ... train numbers

once a guy in our town
had the job to write down the numbers
of every train car as it entered the yard,
perhaps someone could recall his name, I can’t

another worker at that mill told me this years ago
witnesses at the time swore it was true
twelve or fifteen digits and letters on every train car
how many I’m not sure, there were quite a few

the man’d watch twenty, fifty, or a hundred cars pass
look at the numbers until the last car rolled on
half his job was complete when he saw the last
he’d go into the office and write the car numbers down

the trains go by inside my head
with numbers to recall
histories piled higher than daily bread
no way can i digest it all

everyday i write a review
most events true, others not.
nothing special 'bout what i do
some have value, some best forgot