Free Verse: The Howling Train

A free verse poetry, “The Howling Train.”

It’s in the small experiences, big ones too, that I realize just how precious life really is. In my life time, I have been to places that have made me feel so tiny, like a grain of sand. It has taught me, that I am a part of a bigger picture.

A place of being, a fleck of humanity, a part of a community. It takes each of us to give to humanity. A free verse poetry and a digital art piece in appreciation of life.

The Howling Train

An old railroad crossing
In the middle of God’s country.
Planks wide enough I could see my soul,
Through and through.
It was kind of unnerving.
The depth just went on and on.
I threw a pebble into the gap.
Down, down, down it went.
No echoing sound came back.
My soul wasn’t like that.
I, like the plank, would age over time,
Time stamped with determination.
Standing there with just
a plank underneath my feet.
I felt invincible.
Vulnerable. A soul crossing.
I placed my hand upon cold railroad track.
Something was imminent.
A train, coming from a far-off distance.
Vibrations echoed of the chugging.
Then a choo, choo from its horn.
Again Choo. Choo.
I must move quickly across.
Now I felt vulnerable.
What if I trip, stumble?
I have nowhere to go
but down like the pebble.
I crept, swiftly across watching the placement
Of my feet. I was shaking.
My heart is pounding; I could hear the train’s
increasing sound as it drew near.
I jumped off to the side of track
Onto the tall grass, I stumbled, tripping over my feet.
My shoe caught in the long grass.
I rolled over onto my butt
and watched the train approach.
100, 75, 50 ft. closer.
Screaming horn. The air was hostile.
Diesel rang a strong smell, burning nostrils.
Somehow, I felt tiny.
The train howled past
Every part of me was shaking.
Then, away, away. Quieter dissipating was gone.
I laid on my back staring at the blue sky, appreciating the smallness of me, realizing that was a close call.

©Linda J. Wolff 2017
|The Howling Train|
A free verse poetry

What is a Free Verse Poetry? Typically patterned by speech rather than meter, this form of poetry is very open to the author’s discretion and usually does not rhyme. Visual and sound effects are often employed.  It can have as many lines as the writer wishes.

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Read more Inspiring Poetry:

1. Free Verse – Bullying, When You See Her
2. I Am a Twilight Girl
3. Daily Haiku: Gray Abandonment

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