TRAIN
By Daniel Thompson
Train!
You’ve driven your golden spike
Into the dark night of my soul
Train!
You carry my death in the smoky
Breath of your cities
Train!
You’re the iron horse, the ironic
Force that’s sped up the nightmare
Of history, our genocide mystery
Train!
It’ll be a great day when this wobbly
Depressed hobo poet, riding the rods
Finds you’re carrying peace
Train!
Mine eyes have been watching you closely
Train. This is now a new freedom train
The new Swing Low, Sweet Harriet Tubman train
No high noon killers on this train
No death nor internment camp counselors
On this train. This is no bourgeois train
This is the Woody Guthrie-Bound for Glory train
This is the Leadbelly train, the A train, the A.
Philip Randolph-PullmanPorter train, the John
Coltrane, the Ain’t I a Woman-Sojourner Truth train
The Great Day in the Morning Peace Train! Train! Train!
Copyright Homeless Grapevine Issue # 17, Cleveland, Ohio