By Kate Flournoy
Time is an engine entangled with life
That masterfully pulls all the strings.
It marches through past and future alike
And binds up the stars with its rings.
A slave to its power, I wait in my place
With my luggage piled high at my feet,
And the sidewalk beneath me is worn to a rut
As I stand and watch in the street.
Trains, at time’s bidding, zip to and fro,
And the people eternally stream,
With their hope-bleeding hearts pinned on their sleeves,
Through the doors of the Train of Their Dreams.
My luggage is smallish, and the train won’t be large—
A speck in comparison to some.
Yet still I stand waiting, drenched with the rain,
And my dream-bearing train doesn’t come.
Hope seeds, like dandelions, fly on the wind,
Undaunted by storm, wind, or rain.
The ones who I love are spreading their wings,
But unsighted still is my train.
How is it, strange life, that some trains must sleep
Long, long before they come to the gate?
My ticket stands ready—it’s here in my hand—
But my heart is learning to wait.
Kate Flournoy is a die-hard country girl raised on Tolkien and Lewis and determined to change the world. She’s a shy drama queen, timid idealist, hopeful cynic, melodramatic logician, and intellectual poet who believes that simplicity is best and everything is possible…except her ever coming to like cheesecake. Let’s not get too wild here.
You can find her blogging at https://kateflournoy.wordpress.com, and you can get a free short story by signing up for her newsletter here.
^^ One of my favorite poems.
Thanks. 😉
I love this. Something stirred in my soul when I read this…and I wanted to cry. Thank you so much for sharing this poetry with us, Kate…and please continue to share more. You have such a beautiful way with words. ❤️❤️❤️
O.o you wanted to cry?
I should not be as pleased about that as I am… XD Thank you. I’m so glad it touched you.
Yeah, I felt a bit like crying too, Eden. Lovely poem! The end makes you want to read it again.
Aww, thanks! <3
Wow, Amazing!!!
I Love this so much. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading. 🙂
Ah! So lovely. <3
Thankee thankee. 😀
I read it to myself and sighed so much that I had to read it to my thirteen year old brother and even he said, “Aww..”
Beautiful work!! I agree with Eden, it really touched me…
Awwwww… *grins* Thanks.
This is beautiful, Kate! I love the comparisons in here. Very good job!
Thanks!
Absolutely lovely. I really like trains in general, so your poem here just increased that liking.
Aww, yay!
This is wonderfully written!! Had to read it a couple times over 😄
Thank you!
I love this metaphor, Kate! Well done. 🙂
Thank you. 🙂
I thought I had commented, but just realized I didn’t.
This poem is lovely! The symbolism of the trains is so beautiful! I fell in love with the story interwoven in your beautiful rhyming. This is simply wonderful. 🙂
Awwwww, thank you Katherine.
Awesome job!
Thanks Andrew. 😀
Ah, I keep coming back to read this. You did a wonderful job. This might be one of my favorite poems. 🙂
Eeeek, thank you! <3
short but engaging, I like how every word has purpose.
packed with truth and very picturable thank you for
sharing.
Thanks for reading. 🙂