To That Dismal Train Somewhere Near Banff
Forgotten, you settle into the earth,
naming stones for each destination missed –
Kamloops, Jasper, Lake Louise – which is worth
each open-mouthed coin laid on the rail, kissed
and reformed into altered currency
no longer capable of carrying
debt or a tourist’s sense of urgency,
only dying days and the wearying
plight of the unmoved. If vines caress your
body, who’s to blame for accepting their
advances? When green subsumes rust, deplore
that too, but enjoy the moments you share,
leaf on metal and glass, the raspy light
tonguing your throat through those long, whistling nights.
O at the Edges 
“wearying plight of the unmoved” – impressive description of an intangible! Is this recall of a wrecked train seen from a moving train? The poem feels like a binocular zoom-in.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you! This was sparked by the same painting that inspired my mini-broadside poem “The Loneliness of the Last.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh Banff…so many fond memories…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never been there, but it crept into the poem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have been through there so many times they should name a street after me. Oh the stories… one day when I win the lottery we shall stand on the top of Tunnel Mountain together and scream out poems at the towering peaks all around us…
LikeLiked by 2 people
This sounds like an excellent plan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is a path up the west slope…we’ll take a bottle of Laphroaig and some Camembert and a couple of notebooks. Then a couple of Black Angus T-bone steaks later…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll bring a crusty bread and some fruit, and maybe Neruda or Hirshfield. 🥖
LikeLiked by 1 person
The link doesn’t work, Bob and I can’t find it on your site. But I really like this poem!!! Cheers, Lynne
LikeLiked by 2 people
I may post “The Loneliness of the Last” later today or perhaps tomorrow.
LikeLiked by 2 people
To echo Lynne, a search of your site for ¨The Loneliness of the Last¨ does not pull any results.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Today’s post. I’ve not found a link to the art.
LikeLike
Found the link to the artwork, and added it to the recently posted “The Loneliness of the Last.”
LikeLike
Love it. And takes me back to my home country….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, David.
LikeLike
Feeling like an old rusty train myself tonight, and no breath to blow that forlorn whistle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, how I know that feeling!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Having haunted so many derelict railyards and rail museums over the years, “When green subsumes rust” and “leaf on metal on glass” were definitely going to speak to me even if I hadn’t seen that “Trem Abandonado”. A fragment of some industrial Angkor Wat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’re on the same wavelength once again, Sunshine. Angkor Wat popped into my mind when I first saw the picture.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Crazy Pasta Child.
LikeLike
Thank you for reblogging.
LikeLike