Yesterday’s Steam and Smoke

Clickity Clack

silver streaks from east

phantoms from west

afar they came with

anxious voices pushed loud

once eyes bright

cheeks pressed on glass

seeing the platform ahead

smiles amassed

once waving hands

they welcomed home

the one and all

for all and one

Clickity Clack

rails once polished for speed

seek the touch of wheels

where deft swirling wrists

did Windows clean

for mirrored moon swept romantics by night

and reflected sun driven ambitions by day

now only uniformed hole punchers

slumped shoulders of yesterday

rocking before a wall

reflect

reflect

peering back

as windows darken

embraced by tunnels

once bright in their darkness

progress announces

there’s light ahead

with bullets of tomorrow

as light opens beyond

we leave behind

these trestle rails or yore

the pinpoint once a universe

now embraces but voided space

a barren station here

a people past there

for today wedges levitate

these bobsleds on stilts

with speeds of flight

expectations in tow

suits embraced by silent tech

iPads

earbuds

coffee in hand

the tunnels of dark forgotten

leaving unseen blurs behind

no Clickity Clack

bodies silently exit in mass

inviting minds as one

converging the progress melt

already thirsty for the return

Chivas Regal at six

the circle of no exit

no clatter

no rumble

no screech

one’s lamented future

another’s serpentine feast

reflections lost

yesterday’s steam and smoke covered dreams

gone