Boxcar
Whose voice lingers
among the gathered stones,
raised then lowered as if
to ensnare followers?
This is not the issue.
Nor should we speak of paper
shuddering in the wind
and the dense glare of shovels
in the night underfoot.
Pray that the road continues
beyond the next curve
or increment of time.
Trust in motion,
the reticence of trees.
“Boxcars” first appeared here in November 2015. It had been moldering in a folder for three decades when I uncovered it. I have no idea what originally sparked it.
O at the Edges 
I found Boxcars very interesting .thanks
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Thank you very much!
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This is fantastic and, dare I say, profoundly theological, even if theology may not be your thing (I don’t know). I found it very moving.
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Thanks very much, Craig.
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Pray that Okaji continues to the next moldering box-load of old poems … trust in current relevance of past words …
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I’ve found a few worth keeping. Most are not. More interestingly, I unearthed a few poems written in early 2018 that I’d forgotten about. Funny how that is.
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I like coming across past pieces. (After I shake off the perfectionist looking for flaws.) Suddenly you’re like any reader, drawing out a story of your own. A new one.
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Of course there are those pieces that make you say “what was I thinking?”
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Beautiful! It’s almost like your channeling Robert Frost!!!
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Thanks very much. I wouldn’t have thought of Frost, but am pleased that you did!
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This moves me/.
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Thanks very much, Chrissie! I’m so pleased it resonates.
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Creosote! Smear smear smear. 🙂
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Ah, the dark side of boxcars!
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Hehehehee
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The things you leave moldering are better than others’ polished gems. What else might you find in some dusty drawer?
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There are reams of crap! I’ve thrown out a bunch of fragments and drafts of never-to-be completed pieces, but the amount never seems to lessen. I swear this stuff breeds in the dark!
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
A LINE OF BOXCARS AND THEY MIGHT CARRY, OF COURSE!
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Thanks very much for reblogging this piece.
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YES SIR!
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