Best Rail Poems
rusty rails touching
a salty handcar within
the kingly elk's plain
rusty rails
salty handcar
camera obscura
Categories:
rail, art, history, imagination,
Form:
Haiku
Twas a little piece of heaven in a bigger spot of hell,
Nestled in the bosom of the Sierra Nevadas.
I wasn't sure just what planet I had just landed on,
An alien invader in a strange mountain fold.
Oh, they looked at us with those skeptical stares,
Knowing full well their way of life there was to end someday.
But they took us in anyway, finally seeing our flags were the same color,
And taught us the art of rock-flicking and tree-bending!
Miles and miles of tormented roads and depressed dwellings
Peppered the backs of the manzanita hills.
Pine pitch wafted in my nose in the sunshine,
And cool, sweet water in the faltering twilight.
Like fleeing snakes, the rivers and creeks charged down-hill,
A Pacific grave was the prize at the end of the run.
We found the Red Planet above Prussian Hill,
Waiting for us to be the last of the guard of an older way of life.
The only real laws out there were the laws of common courtesy,
Don't tread on me, and an eye for an eye.
Folks were as real and as painfully set as a re-broken bone,
High-falutin' ways were as real to them as Hollywood dreams.
The summer sun burned the devils out of your bones,
The winter chill froze the snow angels into your flesh.
Funny, I never heard the whistle of a train,
Where were the railroads?? Hell, where were the FLATS??
West Point was pointless, Wilseyville was full of wiles,
Independence sat in lonely forgottenness,
Glencoe, a plaque in the artery of Hwy. 26.
Mountain Ranch and Sheep Ranch sighed in amnesic slumber,
While Mokolumne Hill and San Andreas kept vigil to the gateways.
A part of my soul is still buried in the flesh of those fractured rises and draws,
A part of who I am... there's no shame, I feel, to admit it loud and proud.
So, to the new dwellers who've changed her lovely, rustic face
Into the image of what they deem beautiful and of value,
Don't forget there were lives lived out before you came,
And remember they cleared the way for you and your ways!
Resist the temptation to rush to change a land that never asked you,
And treat her with the respect of your fathers' graves and your childrens' futures.
Categories:
rail, nature, nostalgia, places
Form:
Free verse
Of warm tiny tears; twas a long night....
Baby swept away amid taunting gray as grim
Photographic images their dreamscapes montrous
Montage bold yet cold, this shivering plight: black pearls
Coloured stones mortified his mosaic an albatros in timeless gales
Insidious insomnia; insolent's ancient anthology spreading wide these wings
Posed a verse her phantom's hearse Pompeii ? Whispering winds awaken the child....
Leviathan's leprechaun: sprinkling magical dust baleful skies prophetic life: tender tides reaching high.
Categories:
rail, baby, jesus, love,
Form:
An old rail fence lingers by the meadow
Humbled by the toll of seasons spent
Posts erect, still standing at attention
Arms outstretched, embracing that which was
Many years ago
Categories:
rail, nostalgia,
Form:
Free verse
Gypsy of the Railways
I march to a different drummer
My life it is my own
I'm an explorer of experience
That is how I'm known
I've seen snow in South Dakota
I've been on the Vegas strip
Had barbeque in Kansas
My life has been a trip
I'm a gypsy of the railways
I'm a legend in my time
I move on in a boxcar
Brother... spare a dime?
I've been through all the landlocked states
Five provinces as well
I've seen Niagara Falls all frozen
I've seen it flowing fast as well
I've had margaritas in Key West
And Bourbon in Kentucky
Craft beers out in Oregon
In my life I have been lucky
I travel on my stories
Feed myself with all my tales
I'm an explorer of experience
I'm a gypsy of the rails
I never stick around too long
I don't wear my welcome out
I come and see just what I want
That's what life is all about
I've railroad friends in Texas
Some up in BC too
We've shared drinks in San Diego
And had a great Alaskan brew
I'm not one to live by your rules
I find my rules suit me fine
I'm an explorer of experience
And I'm riding on the lines
You can find me down in Georgia
Or eating spuds in Idaho
I never know just where I'll be
Until my ride begins to go
I'm a gypsy of the railways
I'm a legend in my time
I move on in a boxcar
Brother...spare a dime?
Categories:
rail, 7th grade, adventure, america,
Form:
Rhyme
All night I travel, in a dream…
asleep since midnight - plus sixteen.
A ghost train’s whistle, softly drawn
through orange-black at cusp of dawn.
The phantom locomotive chugs
with each and every stroke,
then crests the hill, going faster still,
churning out black ash and smoke.
From this smoke cloud falls a raindrop
though some might disagree,
say it’s called a devil’s teardrop,
but knowing which is key.
The truth is somehow mottled
and can scarcely be explained,
there’s no hand upon the throttle
nor conductor on the train.
Passing by a murky cornfield
where it seems we’ve been deceived,
witnessed by a tattered scarecrow
who will never be believed.
The fog hangs inauspicious,
while the dark clouds tell a tale,
of the shadow’s superstitious
witch’s moon on endless rail…
Categories:
rail, dark, dream, gothic, moon,
Form:
Rhyme
i
pot bellied boasting navels
shiny round ball bearing stomachs
haloing out of diesel grime
over alls and silver buttoned railway
insignias
these long waxed pig curled mustache workmen
rotated their lives between shifts of day and night
with metal lunch boxes and coffee tin flasks
strolling main road home or to that gleaming rail
that provided a town’s livelihood
my grandfather worked that rail and my father too
providing me with the means
to take that broke back-heart break scenic route
out of town for good and forgetting
until now
ii
coming back everything changed
and the fat men were now old and wiry
sitting on subsidized railway porches
looking on main road maybe thinking rail
going to that station I found it desolated
and the once shimmering humming rail
all rusted up and silent
I touched it and imagined the once proud spirit of it
corroding away as the blue collar folks on the porch
Categories:
rail, childhood, community, youth,
Form:
Free verse
Passing by the Moss Covered Rail Tides
The sound of the flowing water
Eases my stressed mind
As it rolls over the rocks
Passing by the moss covered rail tides
It flows so smoothly
So free
No concern for its destination
Flowing along so freely
To a place it does not know
Though anxious to arrive
I envy its freedom
Its smooth flowing way
For I want to lay in it
Flow along on its merrily wild ride
From shore I watch
Drip by drip
Watch it flow by
As it rolls over the rocks
Passing by the moss covered rail tides
Categories:
rail, nature, water,
Form:
Free verse
Do you hear the devil's laughter?
low within the marsh waters
rustling high the tree tops
Answer not with prayer
but within a smirk of doubt
Don't tilt the boat least you fall in
and a fat gator eats you alive for lunch
Or an angry snapping turtle bites a hunk of flesh off your hide
shoot them copperheads with a bb gun
Silence in this soaked land
a drizzle of rain coats the lush vegetation
It shimmers and shines when the sun breaks loose
Cattails are full
break em and milk comes out
Bloodsucking mosquitoes
tiny vampires that the fat bullfrogs to full to feast on
Dragon flies hover over
and tadpoles dance in a swarm
Black Rail hiding in the reeds
boat gets closer hear him growl
Tiny bird no one ever sees
Ki-Ki-Krrr Ki-Ki-Krrr
Where could you be
I hear but do not see
Time for home and mom's slowed cooked beans
corn bread squares with a tab of sweet butter
Deep in the nightfall
with the bedroom window cracked
do you hear the faint sound of the devil's laughter
hiding lost souls in murky water graves
Black Rail waits for dark
flies away in the midnight sky
fly fly fly
tiny bird with the dark you are safe
Categories:
rail, bird, nature, water, youth,
Form:
Free verse
Jim hares out of his cottage
into the busy streets.
He has bags clung to his back
and his arms.
In a beautiful yellowish cardigan,
he is clad in
and a rocky pair of boots to fit.
"Where is Jim headed?",
asked Mrs Bishopton.
"He is up to catch a train to Yorkshire",
replied Mr. Wellington.
There at the rail station, Jim sits.
Seated also by the rail side are many others,
waiting impatiently to be conveyed to Yorkshire.
Categories:
rail, travel,
Form:
Free verse
Thoughts On The Rail
I ponder on, this big world, you and I
Does love ride the hard gusting wind
Moving its beauty about in a sunny sky
A journey magnificent but without an end!
I hope, life will forever hold anew
Eternity and the joys of sweet dreams
So often united in the hearts of two
Wading the brooks and mountain streams!
May I know, the joys my father found
The great treasures of his humble life
Spirit flying fast while earthly bound
Far above the din of sin and earthly strife!
Robert J. Lindley, 06-21-2015
Categories:
rail, age, allusion, analogy, appreciation,
Form:
Rhyme
My grandpa built a split rail fence.
He did the best he could.
He hand-dug every post hole,
Sweat and muscle, rough-hewn wood.
Didn’t compromise his standards,
He was sure to do it right.
He made it bull strong, horse high and hog tight.
The carnival just came to town,
Its gaudy midway, too.
Don’t favor taking chances,
But I’ll ring the bell for you.
Gonna swing that hefty mallet
And I’ll win the prize tonight.
I’m feeling bull strong, horse high and hog tight.
It’s funny how the solid things
Endure despite the years,
Through thunderstorms and blizzards,
Broken hearts and bitter tears.
But I promise if you let me,
I’ll be sure to do it right.
I’ll love you bull strong, horse high and hog tight.
Categories:
rail, desire,
Form:
Lyric
The hoot of the train was shrill enough to bring me back to my consciousness,
With eyes half shut I could see the sunrise albeit my body was in oppressive soreness.
Thankful was I that the night was over,
And a ray of hope was now surely closer.
For I was made to flung a night before,
Next to a track that was never explored.
Till last night I had never thought that the body I reserved,
Would soon fall in jeopardy and be set free only when it was thrice served.
I somehow managed to stand up and look around,
But the only thing I could see was a local rail over the ground.
As the train approached me a passenger looked at me and gave a shout,
She made the train stop, lifted me up in the coach and gave an expression of doubt.
I narrated to her the last night's account,
And her eyes were wet when the train began to mount.
She gave me a seat next to a window,
And all I had was a gesture of gratitude to show.
We passed the plains, the rivers and hills,
Looking at which my mind started to chill.
As the night started to fall,
My heart was filled with fear of all.
But I consoled myself with the sight of the window,
Besides which I was sitting now and focusing on a meadow.
Categories:
rail, adventure, beautiful, body, character,
Form:
Rhyme
Bodies crammed shoulder to shoulder
Packed in wooden cattle cars
Their destination to them unknown;
Men, women, and children,
Old, young, and grown.
Bodies standing crowded and pressed against each other
Hearts filled with fear and despair;
Their screams and sobs of anguish and agony
Pierce the stifling air.
Their hearts and minds filled with uncertainty and sorrow,
Not knowing where they will be this time tomorrow.
There is worry and heartache all around
Misery and confusion abound.
History books may have stories that can educate and tell
But only God knows how many tears were shed on the iron rail.
Categories:
rail, depression, fear, heartbreak, holocaust,
Form:
Rhyme
death speeding down the rail
desperate last breaths make appeal
‘stead of a dash to the rescue
speaking volumes
about values
camera flashes for
front page display
Categories:
rail, life,
Form:
Free verse