On A Train Bound For Nowhere

I packed up all my troubles,
chucked them away--
inside an old kit bag,
to take to the rails--
in needed obscurity;

Bought a ticket to nowhere,
caring not where I ended up.
So consumed was I--
with my own pain,
seen in dead eyes.

So I shuffled my feet--
slowly with disillusionment.
Locked my troubles tight--
in a storage compartment
and sat staring blankly;

The hours slipped by quickly--
like changing seasons,
filled with flashes of color
and riotous emotions--
that played out across my face;

And as the still of night--
chased away the harsh day,
I was filled with an emptiness--
that I never knew existed
and yet had unknowingly longed for.

In that emptiness--
I found my heart;
Could feel it in the beating,
keeping time with the clickety clat--
of the train, humming along.

The train was kind of like life--
had a schedule to keep,
but took its time getting there
and enjoyed the views--
along the way;

I had stopped doing that it seemed;
Could feel the truth poking painfully--
through tightened ribs,
of all the failures--
I thought I had endured.

But the failures were part of me,
would lead me to better journeys.
To ride the rails of life,
into the unknown, but with the promise--
of and end in sight;

Happiness was the destination,
I had lost sight of that.
Looking around the train now--
I saw others lost in their own silence,
but with dawning realization;

The journey, just the journey--
is what we live for.
The destination is what we long for;
Suddenly the conductor appeared,
an old guy with a welcoming smile;

He looked across at us lost souls
and with a twinkle in his eye,
as if he understood us--
for he had been us at one time,
he spoke ever so quietly.

"Welcome everyone--
to the Heartland Express,
we trust you are enjoying your journey.
We have many destinations, so sit back,
we'll take you where you need to go;"

"Everyone ends up on the Heartland Express--
sooner or later,
questioning life, the journey, the path;
It's man's nature to want more
and sometimes he forgets about what he has."

His words poured over me--
washing away the doubt and shame,
clearing my eyes so that I saw finally--
that life was precious,
no matter the hardship;

I reached up and pulled out--
that old kit bag full of troubles,
unlocked them and set them free--
determined to look for solutions
and not to wallow in failure.

And the train prattled on--
filled with so many souls,
that the Heartland Express swelled--
with enormous emotion,
providing great power to propel us forward--
on our spirit's journey;

And I was a content passenger--
for the first time in my life...