Door open,
hurtling loud and at full speed
towards my destination,
beneath me a blur
of mounded ballast
and withered grass,
the world coming into focus more
the further out I look -
graffitied fences, factories
still wearing the soot
of steam trains from decades
before, a mountain of stacked
wooden pallets, car wrecks
piled four high.
Late sixties, on my way
to work on the 7.10
from Alberton, all stops
to Cheltenham then express
to the City. The station names
flash by, Woodville, Kilkenny,
Croydon, Bowden all pass dreamlike
through a disconnected stare.
A vague residual left by the thoughts
back then still seem to slop
around my memory. I can feel
panic claw on the window
trying to get out.
I arrive fifty five years later,
on time, here, a world away
looking out on a soft fall
of summer rain. My journey
has gone by all too fast
on the 7.10 express train.
How can I express the shock
Nope it is an express train
But my heart beats more furious to win your heart
Hey beauty hey madam hey queen your lips lock me down because you want to win
The blue sky the road ride
Foggy noon I lose your words
It doesn't mean you win
Humble of marble cluck like when I twisted here and there
I miss it doesn't mean you win
Dear you must be win when I die because my ! a smile!
I'm not able to find your navigator
Ha ha ha ah
With love all
Jagdish Bajantri
I don't like sunshine
at a stretch
Still, if it is staying away
for long
I am robbed of my roses
A continuous rain
a non-stop super express train
I do criticize
but then a few raindrops
on tender leaves
your cheeks
I always smile at
A lot of harboured images
many a wavelengths
behind the hedges
Your too frequent footsteps
renders me monotonous
the thorns and thistles
I miss
Then again
if no sounds
at the door every day
the plant pots look hollow
As a matter of fact
the soil has a thirst for
new plants and creepers
both native and alien
folding the neck
there the cotton clouds
are descending
from her hands
I need a paper boat
BATTLE OF THE FLOWERS
After a long soggy
Thunderously angry month of weather .
Horrible, with intermittent spells of dreadful.
Seeds in ranks like first-battle soldiers
Prepared in 10cm pots (no peat ).
Indifferent germination meant
A late transplant to ground inmidsummer.
June was too cool to ‘bust out all over‘.
Early blooms struggled heroically in July.
Then dawned August bright,
Which brought nothing to their troubles,
But underlined the lateness and slowness
Like an express train on a bank holiday.
The sunflowers’ big cheeky smiles
Peeped at me through September.
But faded fast in frosty October.
1st May 2021
Ticket booth requests destination
manually I type your name,
a mathematical equation
couldn't convince me to abstain,
Catching despair in my reflection
streetlights flounce, dreary windowpanes
tracking raindrops with affection,
pining for your embrace, once again
Traveling express train to heaven
station platforms, fleeting by
mimicking photographs in my mind,
camera rolls, flicker the sky
do not blink your eyes if you want to see,
an amazing guy doing his magic with ball,
flash of blue and white jersey on ground,
as he races past falling opposite numbers,
to launch the ball in to the net for a win!
He raises his arm and runs around, jumps!
whole world applauds an Argentinian win!
before the cheer dies down he is back again
like express train speeding for another call,
left and right, side and back and the kick!
ball curls past the diving goal keeper in!
another moment for applause!!!
in Argentina he is loved like he is Life,
he is adored in Cuba, worshipped in Brazil,
in Italy he is more than a King!
In all of Asia he was a much loved icon,
his photos decorated homes and shops!
while Pele was called the black pearl,
Diego is a diamond in every human heart!
even the English who hated his ‘hand goal’,
had to say he was the greatest of all!
here was a genius who played the game,
like he was only created for football,
a tiny man just five foot five!
has left behind a foot print several meters tall!!
1st placement
Written 26/11/2020
Maradona obituary poetry contest
Mohan Chutani
Free verse
Express train to hell just left the station
does anyone still have a reservation
if so don't worry, it's alright if you do
we'll just get you on the way back through
those already aboard were arriving soon
to where time is told with a needle & spoon
& the clock is only hanging on by a thread
you have just entered the land of the dead
the fate of your life, now has a sinister plot
any last order's before you take your shot
if not then push the plunger & fade away
who wants to live until there old & gray
it's all overrated, plus I have your soul
to get you here I achieved my goal
not many make it back or even try
they call heroin the devil & this is why
tricks you into becoming someone your not
like it was your friend from all the joy it brought
always picked you up, on days you were down
now just makes you sick when it's not around
it's on a war path & destroys what it touches
so never leave the house without bringing your crutches
Upon entering the dining car
on the Oriental Express Train
to the Far East,
I tried to remove the wine bottle cork
with a knife; severed an artery, and died.
as dark
clouds cumulate
sol goes into hiding
until betrayed by a silver
lining
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Contest: Cinquain Express Train
Sponsor: John Anderson
Placed 1st
© 30th May 2017
You lie
so frequently
you now believe every
syllable that flows from your lips
is true
Cinquain Express Train Contest
Sponsored by John Anderson
checked with how many syllables
05~30~17
Yin and Yang
To live
Among heathens
Every saint has a past
Every sinner has a future
So love
Cinquain Express Train Contest
Sponsored by John Anderson
May 30, 2017
Like sounds
Of dew on grass
Descended the dense dusk
The flock of black geese returned home
White peace
_______________________________________
28 May 2017 for John Anderson's
Cinquain Express Train Contest
Woman
Vain, visceral,
Temptress, shrewish, fickle,
beguiling, bewitching, winsome
Woos man.
~Contset: A Brian Strand, 4 or 5 line Poetry - Cinquain.
~05/26/17
~ Cinquain Express Train contest by John Anderson.
Floating
Knocking in mind
Memories of the past
Blowing them with a goodbye
Ever
---//---//---//---//---//---//---//---//---//
For Cinquain Express Train Poetry Contest
Sponsored by John Anderson
5-26-2017
Excited faces looking out,
Views through mountain pass,
Laughter and joy,
Winter trips,
Snow plow pushes through,
Long journey ahead,
Orient express train speeds,
Onward through blizzards,
Fast and furious,
Unstoppable!
People chatting,
Without a care,
Unaware!
Phantom ride to scare,
Strange things occur,
Ghost waiter’s serve,
But were things as seen,
With excellent cuisine,
Finest champagne,
Cocktails and drinks,
Selections to tempt,
Indulgences,
Delicious to the eye,
Caviar!
Hypnotized,
All a lie!
Disguise,
Unbelievable in dream,
Twelve o’clock scream,
Moonlit realities,
What the hell!
Scary noises from tracks,
Haunting attacks,
Awaking from sleep,
Escape from this creep,
Ghost train in motion,
Haunted powered locomotion.
Emergency stop cord pulled.
Into the winter wilderness,
People run.
31/12/2016
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