Long Railroads Poems

Everything here is true
Just as stated
because it's already happened
or - it has yet to occur - 
but it's very soon to occur
and I have such strong feeling
that the future will be as I see it
as...

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I have slept but I have not slept
I have not slept but I have slept
For the first time in two years
I slept without a word of care
No codes, no crossroads
No railroads, no shiploads
No lizards no...

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The Killing Field”

Ariana nodded, tremolo fingers,
and they ran across the killing field,
watching the steel-toed kite ascend—
a fleeting instant of triumph in the vacuum.
Josh scoffed as it dipped,
both caught in the pull of the abyss,
falling but...

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The Killing Field”

Ariana nodded, tremolo fingers,
and they ran across the killing field,
watching the steel-toed kite ascend—
a fleeting instant of triumph in the vacuum.
Josh scoffed as it dipped,
both caught in the pull of the abyss,
falling but...

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THE BUFFALO
by
JOHN M. ARRIBAS


THERE WAS A TIME I ROAMED THESE PLAINS
FAR BEYOND WHERE THE EYE CAN SEE
IF YOU LIVED ON THESE PLAINS 
YOU HAD TO DEPEND AND FOLLOW ME
IF YOU WANTED QUALITY MEAT TO EAT
GRASS...

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The morning sun rises from behind the shady hill warming the village with a solemn hymn, everyone has gone out of the town leaving dryness and darkness all around; the dogs are running and barking...

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They walked...and they walked! 
             prolonged stretches of a disastrous journey -  
           ...

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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...

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It was a train
that took my mother west
away from her family farm
to seek adventure. She found work in San Diego,
joined the Navy and met my dad.
It was the 1950’s.
Planes were not yet a big deal
and...

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Unrewarded and unwilling slaves 
they were forced to be, against their will.
In saying that these people paved the way,
for economic foundations
Of the USA.
The south was the worst, 
The slaves working there
Felt cursed. 
Slaves worked on...

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This poem was written after I took a tour of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Wyoming, the site of Custer's Last Stand.

It was the year eighteen sixty-eight.
The U.S. government signed the Fort Laramie...

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It has come out of academia,
and gets some play in the media too,
they cry about ‘decolonization,’
as if time is something they can undo.
They all say it is wrong to go against this,
and I have only...

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#haiku I imprint my heart . a fingerprint of my soul . the clay of your eyes #poem 



#haiku The delicate sound . a star makes when it twinkles . galaxy's whisper #poem 



#haiku I...

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The first train, a smoke puffing monster, ran in India,
Moving like a millipede, cautious, yet, no phobia;
As though well-chosen astronauts, lucky four guests traveled,
In cozy, cool, curtained compartments cautiously castled...

Soon, trains - thought of as...

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River Findings

The Ohio winds around hills
and streams down the hollows
passes steel mills, brick yards and scrap yards.
It carries tug boats, pushes barges, and hauls
black coal stripped from the mountainsides. 

The Ohio’s littered banks 
are home...

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Train Station Landmark --- my significant worth
I’m blissful to fulfill my role in this Earth
witnessing triumphant transit endeavor
done along prudent and diligent fervor.

Our country’s national* railways’ history
highlights progress and development story
revealing the blessings of God...

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Lincoln Special  
Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train


Ma, pa, and I dressed in our Sunday outfit, excited for the “Lincoln Special” to come up the track as we stand at the train depot.  

After departing...

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Freight train is moving out; a big black Mally s’ pulling lead
The Mally’s fire s’ getting hot; she s’ belching smoke an’ blowing steam
Her big drivers ah’ drumming out a rolling rhythmic beat
Whistle blowing that...

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I was young – no more than twenty
Just a child in the minds of most nations
Even back then, I believe I had plenty
There was hope and grace in my foundations

Even at that age, I knew...

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The railroad played a major role in the growth of our nation 
It was an elite form of travel beginning at the station 
The month was September, the year 1825 
A date to remember when...

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*Image of Take In North America by Amtrak.
Training Experience: Novice

All onboard, the Pacific Coast-Liner,
it is seventy-seven, my first leave
of a first year's work. A bit sideliner
on board, the conductor took my bag, "We've
an opened dining...

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Altzhiemers: Thief of Light

My good old friend is a prisoner
tortured by his own sharpest tool
The shadows of Altzhiemers
Throwing a cloak of darkness
Over his bright green eyes
Eyes that I regularly looked to
For wisdom and sage advice
Forty-five...

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Most days they never stopped, but we always felt the vibration                    On the GROUND. I was...

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Most local folk lore is intended to unnerve but
I think there's validity to the Haunted horse shoe curve.
The building of our nations rails took a terrible toll
on the Irish, the Chinese, and many other souls..
This...

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Money isn't everything (BY Josner Saintil)
He has a lot of money...
But you seldom see a smile on his face.
And, yes, he has the good life
Yet all he speaks of his hate, death, and disgrace.

Oh, Yes,...

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