The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Sun 6/25/06)

[RetroLounge]

Night Journey

Now as the train bears west,
Its rhythm rocks the earth,
And from my Pullman berth
I stare into the night
While others take their rest.
Bridges of iron lace,
A suddenness of trees,
A lap of mountain mist
All cross my line of sight,
Then a bleak wasted place,
And a lake below my knees.
Full on my neck I feel
The straining at a curve;
My muscles move with steel,
I wake in every nerve.
I watch a beacon swing
From dark to blazing bright;
We thunder through ravines
And gullies washed with light.
Beyond the mountain pass
Mist deepens on the pane;
We rush into a rain
That rattles double glass.
Wheels shake the roadbed stone,
The pistons jerk and shove,
I stay up half the night
To see the land I love.

Theodore Roethke

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RL

If you have a request for a certain Poet, post their name in the thread and I will find a poem by them and post it...

if you want to see some of my poetry, see the blog at:
http://www.myspace.com/retropaul

[txwhitedove]

1. Wonderful imagery! Thanks, RL.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear Retro!

Wow, what an evocative poem!

Now I know how much you love trains!

This poem really captures the feel of a long-distance train ride.....

I felt the train under me.......

So beautiful!

Thank you.....

:loveya: :hug: :yourock:

[RetroLounge]

3. and the picture I took today.

That's a fellow DU'er in the photo...

:hi:

RL

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Hmmm...It is?

I see your daughter.....

And the railroad engineer....and another guy.....Who is he?

I have NO idea!

:hi:

[RetroLounge]

5. That is NOT my daughter!

:rofl:

My daughter is 5 and blonde.

The one in the picture is 16 years younger than me, but I am not her dad. :evilgrin:

She wishes to remain anonymous. She's a DU'er and another train fan and she went chasing the train with me today. We went again tonight with my 2 kids and her son.

She's a fellow writer too, and used to post on all my poem threads.

RL

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. OMIGOD!

I am so sorry, my dear Retro!

She looks very young....and small......yikes! :blush:

Hokay....

I still have NO idea who she is!

Can I find out via PM? I promise to keep my mouth shut....:hide:

[wildhorses]

7. I hear that train a coming....

Oh, I hear that train a-coming, coming on 'round the bend
I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison and time keeps draggin' on
but that train keeps a-rolling on down to San An-tone

Well, when I was just a baby, my mama told me, "Hon,
always be a good girl, don't ever mess with guns"
But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowin', I hang my head and cry

Well, I bet there's rich folk eating in a fancy dining car
They're probably drinking coffee and smoking fat cigars
but I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free
but them people keep a-moving and that's what tortures me

Well, if they freed me from this prison, if this railroad car was mine
I know I'd move it on just a little farther down the line
so far from Folsom Prison, that's where I want to stay
and I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away