Down the Train Drain

It was a long journey and Martha’ flood gates had been closed for far too long Altona Station and the 1.01 expected from Hannover was nowhere near in time In her mind the intricate roof of the Neo-Renaissaince terminal still lay uncovered Too many bombs from above in the fire storm over Hamburg way back when the Drains were covered in dead bodies trains of destruction memories and thoughts Had been derailed in a surreal depiction of inhumanity retribution and vengeance She had only been a kid well trained in Nazi Ideology a victim but nevertheless Had kept it together in the aftermath still waiting for Peace in her desolate soul Martha’s body was weary her brain a locomotive trail disappearing in foggy haze Full steam ahead now that a boiler exploded and coupling rods were broken and Surely the wheels had come off and veered in disjointed unison under the blaze The storm water sewer had gobbled up grit sediment debris emotions and sanity A grated inlet welded with artisan’s pride was blocked and the sump overflowed The child in the old woman’s body cried out for her porcelain doll but all she held Were excretions from cisterns and down pipes dragging her further into the void Just before everything was fading into well-deserved calm the pistons shivered ‘I’m going to throw myself down the man hole cover into the river because . . .’ Cause and effect had affected her vision but she stood at the void ready to jump There she was in her bathing costume towel in hand and a soap bar just in case ‘You never know what to expect on the other side of hell better die cleanly’ ‘Before I disappear though I will stab you with a dagger and cut out your heart’ It was not entirely clear whether she meant her husband or the Air Force pilots But incise she must to complete her mission and arrange a life down the opening A drained 1.01 arrived and a bottomless pit crushed under the oncoming train Martha waived a final fare well as she drowned in relief and then she exhaled One final time as dreams and aspirations never fulfilled asphyxiated in resolve A final push towards the pull of dementia and then she was going and gone Her son still feels the raids on young innocence betrayed as recollection lives on 18th March 2019 Written for the contest 'Down a Storm Drain and Gone Forever' Sponsored by Eve Roper