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The Railway Lines

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Published: 13th October 2023

Image by gR

how many of you wonder how you find yourself where you are now on some fast train that's shooting by the world outside and don't know why and wishing as it takes the bend before it reaches journey's end that it would stop to let you breathe and disembark then watch it leave so you could turn and walk right back to all those stations on your track to see those places on your list that life's timetable somehow missed and walk those junctions where you spent time deciding ways you went and pull the lever switching lines so that they point to better times and open gates that shut back then so all your dreams are free again to help put right those signal fails you blamed when life came off the rails? each day we grow we come to learn time's just one way with no return but though we can't change all before we get to know life's journey more and had you changed the way you are your train may not have got this far for each dark tunnel lived each day led out to light here anyway and though those platforms from your past might well explain your travelling fast remember too that grass unseen grows right here now and just as green where taking time might help you plan some other route whereby you can move to a seat to change your view and learn to love yourself as you appreciating all you see before Grand Central's destiny while knowing hope faith luck and care helped drive that train to get you there.

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Bj Legros Kelley

Date: 2/28/2024 1:22:00 AM

Wow Gary, this is INCREDIBLE. A fave for me. I am in awe of this poem.

Gary Radice
Date: 2/28/2024 2:33:00 AM

Thanks so much Bj! It’s gone through several changes in its time but I’m happy with this version. Cheers - Gary

Hilda Greenhough

Date: 1/18/2024 9:19:00 AM

I appreciate this spiritual poem. Always check the destination, or a passenger may go the opposite direction. Thanks for this poem.

Gary Radice
Date: 1/18/2024 10:16:00 AM

Thank you Hilda. I appreciate your visit, read and comments. Cheers - Gary

Tony Hargreaves

Date: 12/20/2023 11:50:00 AM

This sets off more railway memories. I remember the bang of the track detonators used as signalling when the pea-soup fog descended. Train drivers could not see signals but listened for warning sounds of detonators. Sad to learn that Blackpool trams now silent. Tony

Gary Radice
Date: 12/21/2023 1:37:00 AM

I was born in '61 and the things that I remember from the trains of my childhood are (for some strange reason known only to my memory) the words No Smoking enclosed in a triangle on the windows, the ability to stick my head out of the top sliding window in a carriage (and then a little later seeing two arrows that denoted how far windows could be opened) and the almost domestic looking lightbulbs in the carriages. Today sitting on a train feels no different to sitting on a bus or plane. Progress - Shmogress. Cheers - Gary

Bryan Norton

Date: 12/17/2023 1:18:00 AM

Sensational, sensational, a wonderful poem, in every respect. A poem to read and read again, and savor your wit and wisdom and wonderful way with words and rhyme. Thank you thank you, Bryan. Glad to call you a friend.

Gary Radice
Date: 12/17/2023 5:14:00 AM

Thanks so much Bryan. Rhyme will always rule for me. :) Just reading it through again now I remember one of the themes of the poem that I had in mind when writing it was "taking back control of one's life". Not easy. Life has got too quick for my liking. All the best! Cheers - Gary

Kelly Deschler

Date: 11/4/2023 12:01:00 PM

An excellent poem, filled with wisdom. And, with great rhythm and rhyme throughout... So well done, Gary :)

Gary Radice
Date: 11/5/2023 12:57:00 AM

Many thanks Kelly. I plan at some stage to add some extra lines in memory of those loved ones who planned to take the journey with us but sadly got off the train along the way for whatever reason. Thanks again for your great comments. Cheers - Gary

Michelle Faulkner

Date: 11/1/2023 12:30:00 PM

I like how this feels like the roll of the train as it passes from station to station, also love the 'grass unseen/just as green' segment, I do like the slower routes sometimes to just take in all the views you miss when going too fast~

Gary Radice
Date: 11/2/2023 1:21:00 AM

Thanks for your valued visit Michelle. The older I get the more I want the world to slow down but the trains just keep getting faster. :) Cheers - Gary

Ellen Gwaltney Bales

Date: 10/25/2023 2:50:00 PM

Love this poem, Gary. I can so relate to the "what ifs" it brings to mind. How many times I have speculated, imagined alternate existences. Perhaps we all do. Very nice work! Ellen

Gary Radice
Date: 10/26/2023 11:25:00 AM

Thanks Ellen for your valued thoughts.. I'm sure we all think 'what if?' at some time. The landscape changes depending on the route we're on and the train just keeps on moving. :) Cheers - Gary

David Fisher

Date: 10/24/2023 5:22:00 PM

Awesome poem, enjoyed! Love the short lines, it works well with the story; it keeps it rolling like a train.

Gary Radice
Date: 10/25/2023 12:22:00 PM

Thanks David! Your kind and encouraging comments are very much appreciated. Cheers - Gary

Evelyn Judy Buehler

Date: 10/24/2023 11:45:00 AM

I could practically feel time's passage on this train, trailing memories. An outstanding poem, Gary. :) Evelyn

Gary Radice
Date: 10/24/2023 2:19:00 PM

Thanks Evelyn for your lovely comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the ride. Cheers - Gary

Jeanette Brewin

Date: 10/23/2023 12:55:00 AM

A brilliant poem and description!! Enjoyed reading this. Well done.

Gary Radice
Date: 10/23/2023 6:56:00 AM

Thanks Jeanette. I appreciate your visit, read and valued comments. Cheers - Gary

Richard Lamoureux

Date: 10/19/2023 7:59:00 AM

I enjoyed this nostalgic write. Your skills are on full display with this gem. You are a good story teller. Have a wonderful day.

Gary Radice
Date: 10/19/2023 11:12:00 PM

Thank you Richard. I like telling stories but don't always know how they are going to end. A bit like life's train journey I suppose. :) I'm happy you enjoyed the read, thanks again. Cheers - Gary

Timothy Ray

Date: 10/17/2023 10:38:00 PM

i do love this walk along the tracks, i hear the trains on a daily basis....once in a while i am caught in traffic waiting....but the real treasure here permeates the line by line of life's analogy and the pauses in cognitive acuity and common sense so absent in the crowded traffic life runs us through....excellent execution Gary

Gary Radice
Date: 10/18/2023 3:39:00 AM

Thanks Timothy for your valued comments. When it comes to life and my poetry I love looking back down the lines to where the tracks and stanchions fuse in the ripple of the sun. Cheers - Gary

Paul Callus

Date: 10/16/2023 2:37:00 PM

This journey of ours is never a straightforward one...perhaps with hindsight we realize how many things we missed out on; how life would have been if we were offered another chance, even if eventually we are destined to reach the end. Alas, time is never on our side! Thanks for the free ride, Gary. * Regards // paul

Gary Radice
Date: 10/17/2023 4:26:00 AM

I often wonder what would have happened if so many of those trains I had hoped to catch had not been delayed or cancelled - or indeed, if they had they been delayed or cancelled :) Would I be me now? :) Thanks for your first class comments Paul. :) Cheers - Gary

Christopher Flaherty

Date: 10/15/2023 5:31:00 PM

Gary Sir Your end Thee end That Train we are all on Will get us there And that is where you ended And left us all Brilliant succinct challenging Engaging Up to each and every one of us your reader To answer this question for ourselves In the end Isn't it a true metaphor for life itself Not HS2 obviously Sir

Christopher Flaherty
Date: 10/16/2023 12:02:00 PM

Selling it off to indeed Gary Sir And at what profit exactly. Procured for less than market value Sold for market value plus , plus , plus Tax Free I one would presume Great relevant musings of modern day reality social commentary RESPONSIBILITY Us not Them

Gary Radice
Date: 10/16/2023 1:20:00 AM

Thanks Christopher for your great comments. Yes, a train journey as a metaphor for the life's journey each of us take was always at the back of my mind when I wrote this. When it comes to taking responsibility for ourselves in life it leaves me wondering about those people who dreamed up, spent mi££ions and then scrapped HS2...and I wonder who they are selling off the land to now that it's no longer going ahead?? Cheers - Gary

Susan Ashley

Date: 10/14/2023 11:03:00 AM

Dear Gary, your poetic pen is wistful, insightful, optimistic and ingenious! A deep rich and fulfilling piece. The quick pace of your poem so eloquently resembles the quick passing of time. A superb and intricate rhyme! Warmest wishes.. ~Susan

Gary Radice
Date: 10/14/2023 1:06:00 PM

Thank you Susan. I had in mind when writing this the poem 'From A Railway Carriage' by Robert Louis Stevenson just for its musicality and pacing. :) Cheers - Gary

Terry Flood

Date: 10/13/2023 3:21:00 PM

A marvellous revision that astonishingly makes your original even better. Really like the way you break your lines to emphasise the rhythm and flow of many of your writes, Gary.

Gary Radice
Date: 10/14/2023 7:14:00 AM

Thanks Terry. I chose this poem as the original poem was the one that took me the longest to put together and I still felt it needed changes. I saw it as a challenge. I was still changing a few lines this morning (no railway pun intended) and will probably change the title sometime in the future too to The Railway Lines just to distinguish it from my first effort from two years ago. And now I'm beginning to sound a tad pretentious. I'll be wearing a floppy hat and a scarf next. Poetry eh? Don't ya just love it? :) Cheers - Gary

Di11y Da11y

Date: 10/13/2023 7:22:00 AM

I love your poetry Gary, always from a good place. Enjoyed this one

Gary Radice
Date: 10/14/2023 7:07:00 AM

Thank you DD. It's where they end up that's sometimes the issue! :) I've reached my 100 mark with my poems and I did say that one page will be enough before I start repeating myself and going to places I've already been and seen with my poetry. I'll still be around to comment / reply but I'm putting the writing to bed for now. I'm actually happy with the 100 I have up. I must admit, I thought I'd never get there. :) Cheers - Gary

Tom Woody

Date: 10/13/2023 6:57:00 AM

Still, there are some things I'd like to go back and change. Make different decisions. But, yeah. Who knows how things would have turned out, for good or bad. I like your breathless rhymes

Gary Radice
Date: 10/14/2023 7:02:00 AM

Thanks Tom. One of the main themes of the poem (or it was when I initially started writing it) was that we can all have regrets from the past but sometimes when we strive to get to a better place in the future we dont take the time to appreciate where we are now. ..If that makes sense. :) Cheers - Gary

Lin Lane

Date: 10/13/2023 6:26:00 AM

Each day we make decisions, certainly not all are the ones we should make, but none of them can we change. It's living with the rewards or consequences of our choices that determine where we stop, where we get off the train, or if we keep riding, allowing destiny to decide. I don't believe in pre-determined fate, so any 'what if' thoughts that come to mind... they're on me. Well composed, Gary.

Lin Lane
Date: 10/14/2023 7:09:00 AM

Hi Gary. I’m smiling at your comment. I didn’t go blonde. It’s more like gray. I’ll read it again and thanks for paying attention to my words and my hair. ;-)

Gary Radice
Date: 10/14/2023 7:00:00 AM

Lin, you have gone all blonde on me - I'm sure you had dark hair last time I saw your picture. :) I digress. Thanks so much for your visit and comments. Since your visit I've revised the ending of the poem again - I wanted to include the word you used: "destiny" somewhere in my text. So I did. Thank you :) Like yourself, I don't personally agree in pre-determined fate but I like the idea of putting things in place that might help towards achieving whatever it is you wish to achieve in life. Thanks again. Cheers - Gary