My youth was spent in a wooden house with railroad as a neighbor
at midnight it would come in serenades of marrow tremors to the senses.
The walls would shake and floor rumble with an earthquake's shaking
as the locomotives with their hundred cars in tow
took forever in rippling waking to roll beyond my window's serenity.
Sometimes they carried cars full of onions
its sweet smell blending with engine's diesel smoke,
a mixture that curled the nostrils in burnt fuel and sugary scents,
while these steel behemoth's motors groaned their booming guttural resound.
Brakes would scream with chilling clarity,
leaving the mind to fear if tales of hitchhikers falling off were true,
who lost limbs when they fell underneath,
which we never found the next day,
though heard stories of those who have discovered a bloody leg or two..
Always taking a peek through the curtains
to search for possible specters after each screeching serenade.
During the day, flat cars often passed
with tanks and artillery cannons draped under a green canvas,
mind dripping with curiosity
when those shrouded forms took shape of some unearthly creature,
imagination conjured as a lethal weapon
hoping it wasn't canisters of chemical warfare as some had claimed.
But perhaps the single most vivid moment
came on the eve when a circus train rolled past,
I heard the trumpeting elephants and roar of lions
watching in awe as their cars shaped as cages
bore the outlines in bright neon lights,
flashing and adding to the magic a child's brain could muster.
Then in a heartbeat it vanished,
my joy of wondering sucking in the vacuum of its departure,
but that single event etched forever in my head
with a panoply of tales flowing forth to tell
at the porch sessions where we were all experts on trains.
Author notes
For option number one
A contest entry
- Intrigue me with a memory by Amunet Wolfbane.
1000 points, ended June 8, 2008, 15 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
-
Very cool
I really enjoyed reading this and delving into the imagery. There's a great tone about it that commands attention. Excllent work here.
-
The circus part and the general reminisce of childhood memories reminds me of Something Wicked This Way Comes (a fantastic book!). Great memory slices in here! Good luck in your contest!
Adding your comment:
