Waiting for a Train

 

The gates come down and

Red lights flash and

I can’t cross the tracks

Because

A train stretches

Down them

Nearly out of sight,

Stopped.

I used to find this delay

Irritating

But now,

As the train slowly

Starts toward Alexandria and

Union Station and points north,

I watch coaches, baggage and

Sleeping cars and

At the end,

A private vintage rail car, and

I wonder who these people are

On the train,

Where they are going,

What they are thinking,

And who they love.

In the private car,

It is a dining car, and

I see red carnations in vases

On the tables and

A couple having breakfast

Which they will finish

Before the train

Stops

At their

Destination.

 

Dan Verner

April 11, 2017