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| Headed Out Image provided by Magpie Tales |
Lament of the Engineer's Wife
Her bed shook
When the trains
rolled past
wheels clicked over the rails
whistles blew at the crossing
But she slept on.
The trains came
three times
during the night.
She would fall asleep
to the rumble of the 9:45
its lonely whistle calling her dreams.
The midnight train
always in sync
with his grandfather's clock
which stood in the hall.
her basal mind
registered both.
When the 3:25
train did not come
she was instantly awake
knowing the turn it failed to make.
Dressed in widow's black
she headed out down the track.
Again.
Jacqui Binford-Bell
July 2015
Note: I have lived in small towns near the tracks and the only trains which ever woke me in the night were those that did not come.
Awesome write! I love the sound of a train deep in night, early morning.
ReplyDeleteRocks, with a jolt at the end; well done.
ReplyDeleteGreat storytelling and smokey language. Favorite line: her basal mind registered both. Fun write. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnother piece of great writing.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of power in this poem and I'm glad I came to visit. All of the trains were proof that things were okay but when that final one didn't show... that's when horror strikes.
ReplyDelete