The Man On the Train

I had been at College that evening After work I was not thinking of anything Just sitting down on the train all alone Wanting to just make my way home The train came into Salisbury stop And I saw a man onto the train hopped He had a pronounced limp when he walked in Sitting down across from me and started talking He said that he had been away from his family a long time And looked forward to seeing them again fate being kind For he had seen many things in his journeys made By ship to support the Old Country with his blade I found his story not so interesting as it went on Dosing as the train rocked along on the rail’s song When I woke I saw the man was gone and I was in Adelaide I walked from the train onto the concourse slowly made On the eastern side of the concourse there was a display on the wall With photographs of military men with notes about their deeds all I looked at each photograph until I saw a familiar face amongst them It was the man awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously as he was ended. © Paul Warren Poetry