In Her Eyes

A quick glance back, iron tracks still clear,
Yet the clock reads quarter to four.
And saddened eyes turn back again,
Unseen, to see once more 

A girl so sweet, so tender and pure,
Now laughing with friends beside,
Unaware of the miserable heartache
She’s leaving far behind. 

Days now passed when children played
Beneath that sweet summer sun
And laughed and teased without a care
Until the day was done.

And times now gone when I could sit
And gaze into her eyes,
And nod and listen patiently,
And hug her when she cried.

Never mine, never hers –
Never one, yet not apart,
Still I wondered, watched, and loved –
She was always in my heart.

But there’s a sound! Now a form,
Eager faces turn to see
That great black monster
Blowing smoke, emerging defiantly.

It comes to a stop, unfeeling, stone cold,
Mechanically staring ahead,
And hisses and waits impatiently
For rushed goodbyes to be said.

Now a hug and a kiss, a smile and a wish,
And she’s off with a lighthearted skip.
No tearing nor aching, no sadness nor tears –
No audible sound of a rip.

But smiling over her shoulder, she waves – she’s free…
And one last time her deep brown eyes gaze lovingly back at me.