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Elysian Fields Are Beautiful in Spring

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Elysian Fields Are Beautiful in Spring

Daniel Henry Rodgers

 

"The Elysian train calls softly at dusk, its voice a hymn for those who dare to believe in something beyond." - Poet

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Opa John The caboose sits red—its iron spine cradles the earth like Atlas rails stretching into nowhere. The stream murmurs softly its voice threading through Ellie’s laughter like silver wire "Do you see it?" I ask her my voice a splintered cello "The train, Ellie—the one that carries us westward past the edge of the world where Cronus grinds his teeth and stars fall asleep in fields of asphodel" She giggles—her hair tangled in April’s fingers "Will there be stories there, Opa? Will Grandma and Daddy be waiting?" I nod though my mind falters—her grandmother’s name slips through my fingers like smoke curling from an extinguished candle The Elysian train will come soon I taste its whistle in my marrow The caboose is ready. Ellie paints daisies on its sides—yellow blooms that gnash their teeth at time’s erasure Ruth I hate that caboose. Its red form nests in my ribs like a vulture— pecking at the day’s carcass until nothing remains but bone and ash Dad tells Ellie about heaven as if it’s a postcard from Paris: lush meadows where daffodils devour sunlight whole But I’ve buried too many dreams in this soil: my mother beneath the oak’s rot my husband beneath the moon’s cracked plate and now my father slipping away like sand through clenched fists “Stop filling her head with ghosts,” I hiss one evening as he and Ellie kneel by the stream He looks at me with eyes that mistake my face but know my scars “Ruthie,” he murmurs softly “even atheists wear paradise like skin” I turn away—but his words pulse like a bruise I can’t stop pressing Later that night alone in bed I ponder to the darkness: What if he’s right? The thought burns—a flicker I smother before it becomes flame Ellie Opa says Elysium smells like spring—diesel and dandelion milk I believe him because he’s Opa and because I must Every night I dream of the train its black engine glistening like obsidian under starlight its whistle carving names into the dark like a blade through stone But sometimes I wake up crying—I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I see him leaving his hand waving from the back of the caboose and I can’t follow “Will it take us all together?” I ask him one afternoon. He smiles but doesn’t answer his silence pierces deeper than any blade I press my palm to the caboose’s cold flank—it vibrates like something alive [Fragments] from Elysium Time folds itself into origami cranes each wing carries a name forgotten by earth but remembered by stars The Train Arrives It comes at dusk when shadows bleed gold across the farm— a replica of Lincoln’s Death Train, Opa says with a grin that cracks open the sky Ellie sees it first: “Opa! It’s here!” she cries her hands clawing at air thick with coal smoke Ruth watches from the kitchen window her heart a gutted clock ticking toward zero. She runs down to the stream as if chasing time itself “Opa,” she rasps when she reaches him—the bitter tang of rust on her tongue. “Don’t go” He hugs her tightly—his arms knots of rope and regret—and presses a book into her trembling hands bound in leather worn smooth by decades of touch Inside: Believe! The final whistle shreds the sky—a bronze howl that cradles them all in its echoing embrace Ellie clings to him as he boards the caboose; Ruth stands rooted in earth too heavy to move “Opa!” Ellie wails as the train pulls away into twilight’s throat He waves from the back platform—his body dissolving into dusk—calling out one last time “I’ll see you in spring!” Aftermath Ruth opens the Bible that night under a lamp’s scalpel—her mother’s handwriting swarms its margins: Love endures all things She weeps until dawn gnaws at their farm raw and bright with yellow blooms Ellie paints each year on rails that stretch toward forever And somewhere westward beyond mortal sight, Opa John tells stories by rivers of Perath—his voice a wound that never heals but never stops singing.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2025




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Date: 4/27/2025 11:01:00 AM
Wow, Daniel. This poem is so rich in metaphor. And in the wonderful ending- "Love endures."
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Date: 4/21/2025 12:34:00 AM
Wow! Daniel, I simply love this, astounding story telling full of metaphors and heavy truths:)
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Date: 4/18/2025 7:38:00 AM
Daniel, you've captured the sadness of separation and death in this work. It's a difficult thing to deal with, but the form you've chosen and way you tell this story makes it very effective and thought provoking. I think you know my take on all of this, but I will say the way you structured this narrative brought tears to my eyes. We certainly should take advantage of what we have in the moment and do right for the future. Smiles, of course.
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Date: 4/8/2025 5:56:00 PM
Yi, yi, yi - emotional impact. Oh, oh, oh - the writing. My, my, my - the metaphors and imagery. This is a complete package that highlights your writing abilities. Stellar storytelling and unfolding and holding of the reader. I am extremely impressed! T/U for presenting me with a reason to look up Elysian and learn its meaning. I leave here differently posed emotionally than when I arrived ... CayCay
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Daniel Henry Rodgers
Date: 4/9/2025 5:10:00 AM
Dear CayCay, it is always a great joy to see your comments and I am very grateful. Since I am a big fan of Greek and Roman history, I get to use a lot of their ideas and concepts. Thank you for being a wonderful friend. Spring Blessings, My Dear Friend, Daniel
Date: 4/8/2025 3:09:00 PM
Quite an engrossing story very well-told with your gorgeous pen, Daniel. What a delight reading this!
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Daniel Henry Rodgers
Date: 4/9/2025 5:08:00 AM
Hello Edward, thank you for your visit and taking a ride on the Elysium train. Spring Blessings, My Friend, Daniel
Date: 4/8/2025 1:35:00 PM
his voice a wound that never heals but never stops singing... Opa says Elysium smells like spring—diesel and dandelion milk…A great narrative, Daniel! Hurts the heart when loved ones leave. Love the descriptions of the train and talkof Elysiun fields. Had a great train station in Poughkeepsie when I was a kid. We’d be looking down as it pulled in, smoking, noisy and bringing fam. from Buffalo!
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Daniel Henry Rodgers
Date: 4/9/2025 5:06:00 AM
Dear Kim, Thank you for your memories of old steamers. I do not know fully why but I am a fan of riding old time steam trains. Maybe it was because my father was a train fan. The line Elysium smells like... was something that I wanted to be different than what might be thought of normally so the diesel and dandelion milk popped into my head. LOL! Spring Blessings, My Dear Friend, Daniel
Date: 4/8/2025 1:21:00 AM
- What a wonderful story you have told with your poetic beautiful words, Daniel - You have given a vivid picture to the reader :) - A deeply moving story - Where I grew up and live, we have never had trains .... once in my life I have traveled by train - hugs
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Daniel Henry Rodgers
Date: 4/8/2025 5:12:00 AM
Dear Anne-Lise, I am so happy you enjoyed my poetic story. I tried to capture the emotions of each character that would be fitting for them and make them stand out. I personally have ridden many trains over the years, including the old steamers, which I love. Thank you!! Spring Blessings, My Dear Friend, Daniel
Date: 4/7/2025 8:20:00 PM
Dear Daniel, this poem is very heart touching, the language and the imagery is vivid and evocative, especially in the line "Ellie's laughter like silver wire" and "postcard from Paris". Wonderful! With love and respect, Anne.
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Daniel Henry Rodgers
Date: 4/8/2025 5:10:00 AM
Dear Anne, It is always a pleasure to read you comments and I am very appreciative. I have a love for the old steam engines and enjoy riding them when I get a chance. Spring Blessings, My Dear Anne, Daniel
Date: 4/7/2025 5:56:00 PM
Daniel, I am so emotionally touched by your lines tonight. I shared a wonderful three days with out of town family and when they left, I felt like they were waving to me from that red caboose although I know I’ll see them again. It’s too quiet and I want to paint yellow blooms. You have several phrases that are poetically phenomenal.
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Lin Lane
Date: 4/8/2025 5:15:00 AM
This will truly be a Spring of blessings for you, Daniel. ;-)
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Daniel Henry Rodgers
Date: 4/8/2025 5:08:00 AM
Dear Lin, So wonderful to read your note this morning. Growing up in Pennsylvania, they have a number of old steam engine trains that you can ride. It was always a great love of mine and it influenced me to write this. You can read my response to Anaya for the full story. It is always great to have family visit. This Easter we are driving down to Nashville to visit my youngest daughter and her husband. They just moved there about 2 months ago. She is pregnant with her first child and due in August. Spring Blessings, My Dear Lin, Daniel
Date: 4/7/2025 10:54:00 AM
Grecian tones supply a welcome elaboration, this lends credulity's gift to a playwriters pen, as it echoes through the generations. "Love endures all things" amongst the yellow blooms it'll forever sing, Daniel poet, I didn't thorouly understand it all, except wonderfully expressed the lure of the Elysian Espress! ~Anaya.
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I Am Anaya
Date: 4/8/2025 7:58:00 AM
It makes perfect sense, the Lincoln train traveling through several states for his burial and being seen by millions of people. How glorious, your experiences are amazing for us to read, sweet Daniel~
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Daniel Henry Rodgers
Date: 4/8/2025 4:59:00 AM
Dear Anaya, Thank you for coming to see my poetry/prose narrative. I got the idea when I visited a place between York and Lancaster Pa. They have a caboose sitting by itself near a stream and there are also newly installed train tracks and a waiting area. This autumn 2025, they are going to have an exact replica of the Lincoln's death train that visitors will be able to ride. It was such a beautiful setting that I was inspired to write this. Spring Blessings, My Dear Friend, Daniel

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