A
child, face pressed, watches
blurs
of greens and white and blue
flow
in uncoordinated motion,
sees
them for an instant and then
watches
them disappear into vapors
left
behind by the train, Small towns
rush
by, only recognizable
by
an individual sameness,
the
hardware and feed store facing
the
track, defiantly, but quickly
left
behind. We hurtle along
steel
lines to a destination growing
less
clear and more realized.
The
child laughs.
This
poem is submitted to dVerse Poets
for Open Link Night. To see other poems, please visit dVerse Poets.
Photograph taken on the Amtrak train
from Kirkwood, Mo., to Hermann, Mo., June 15, 2013.
ha. i will laugh with him...less clear and more realized...like that...and i would love to take a train trip again...
ReplyDeleteSo vivid, touching... love the ending.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me vividly of childhood journeys long ago. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteOh, the sweet memories I have of riding the train both as a child and young adult. This poem brought them rushing back to me as fast as the scenery is speeding by the child pressed against the window.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Glynn!
This is a poignant poem. Touching ending.
ReplyDeleteWell done. I love the smear of landscape when you're on a train sitting back from the window as if it is the world moving by.>KB
ReplyDeleteGlynn this is excellent! I might rethink "defiantly" as an adjective, it felt a bit off tone for the piece. Sorry that is just me messing with near perfection. It is a wonderful poem.
ReplyDelete"Individual sameness" is an interesting twist
ReplyDelete