April 21st - The Crescent Express

Jack of Hearts - The Crescent Express

Boxcar Poem 1

I rode these rails once
As far as Toccoa
Rose told me
As she bit her dirty fingernails
And I contemplated the tracks
Overgrown with weeds
Warped and molded
Hidden in the tall grass
Seemingly abandoned
If not for the faint distant rumbling
I felt in my hands
Kneeling watching her
Bite her fingernails

And I imagined myself
Graceless wheezing
Running after her boxcar
And inches away
Inexpertly jumping
Backwards falling
Spine smashing iron
World inverted
As her train leaves
The city of sunlight
That bakes the pavement

No, I never rode those rails
Only stolen bicycles
That I parked in The Bywater
In the middle of the street
In the middle of the night
I had my fortune told
I spent my money
In jukeboxes at questionable bars