I waited for the midnight train
on the platform in the rain.
It was windy, it was bitter cold
and i was feeling bit frail and old.
Patiently i awaited the arrival of my niece
who was coming home from Greece.
I had time to wander down memory lane
where images flashed wearily in my brain:
she was days old when I held her in my arms
she's become a young lady with uncanny charms
AP: 3rd place 2025
In a dream, beneath Columbus' watchful gaze,
Where the capitol’s dome with the blue heavens waltz,
Strolling alongside the Governor, in harmonious ways,
Our footsteps chanced upon the city's hidden vaults.
Dusk beckoned, a murmur urging us to roam,
Cleveland, my home, through the fantasy did thread,
First adrift, then guided by heart back home,
A train missed, the voyage's lament, a path of dread.
Another locomotive, with heartbeats encased in metal's hold,
My briefcase and luggage, on the platform abandoned in the frost,
A conductor’s poetic words, let go of your baggage, be bold,
Tales of life's loads, and the art of releasing what's lost.
Halted, the train on destiny's meticulously drawn line,
A voyage through life, where loss and blessing entwine,
At every halt, a lesson, an opportunity to align,
Where dreams and reality, over time, combine.
Though the clock had no hands to tell the time
It was still able to number the hours
Over the trees the sun began to climb
As dandelions roared on the lawn, 'flagrant flowers!'
Off to work she went, ready to catch a train
He morning seemed to be on the right track
On the platform she saw her coworker, Jack Crane
He handled cases that required 'heavy lifting', good ole Jack
They arrived at work as the bike messenger wheeled in
He was always suitably attired
His world was a constant spin
Becaus obviously, he was two tired
3-13-2023
Pun Fun Poetry Contest
Margarita Lillico
Happy Jack is back on track
Had a rough go of it for a week or so
Wondered if it was really ever going to end
I'm almost back to normal but it's slow
Wasn't totally sure I'd make it through
Felt like my head was about to explode
Slept for about ten hours every night
And six hours every day on overload
I don't wish this on my worst enemies
But maybe just a small dose could strike
Perhaps a wee bit couldn't hurt methinks
I'd just like to share and share alike
It's been like an out of body experience
I'll behave myself from this day forward
Promise to behave from today till tomorrow
Trust me, it's just what the doctor ordered
Happy Jack is back on track
Had a rough go of it for a week or so
But all's well that ends well they say
I'm almost back to normal but it's slow
Happy Jack is back on track
Had a rough go of it for a week or so
Wondered if it was really ever going to end
I'm almost back to normal but it's slow
Wasn't totally sure I'd make it through
Felt like my head was about to explode
Slept for about ten hours every night
And six hours every day on overload
I don't wish this on my worst enemies
But maybe just a small dose could strike
Perhaps a wee bit couldn't hurt methinks
I'd just like to share and share alike
It's been like an out of body experience
I'll behave myself from this day forward
Promise to behave from today till tomorrow
Trust me, it's just what the doctor ordered
Happy Jack is back on track
Had a rough go of it for a week or so
But all's well that ends well they say
I'm almost back to normal but it's slow
Happy Jack is back on track
Had a rough go of it for a week or so
Wondered if it was really ever going to end
I'm almost back to normal but it's slow
Wasn't totally sure I'd make it through
Felt like my head was about to explode
Slept for about ten hours every night
And six hours every day on overload
I don't wish this on my worst enemies
But maybe just a small dose could strike
Perhaps a wee bit couldn't hurt methinks
I'd just like to share and share alike
It's been like an out of body experience
I'll behave myself from this day forward
I promise to behave from this day forward
Trust me, it's just what the doctor ordered
Happy Jack is back on track
Had a rough go of it for a week or so
But all's well that ends well they say
I'm almost back to normal but it's slow
I went on to Birmingham
and you went on to Crewe.
Soon you married Cedric,
and I wed Mary Lu.
Was I beneath your station?
To me the truth is plain.
Our chosen destination
brings manifold in train.
open rice seek cottons drill
lost pistol greet woods coal
elevator handle rust bridge
Hang out the flags, our British friend is back
Everything on the Soup is back on track
All is right again
We're overwhelmed
Hang out the flags so says Happy Jack
Back on track, fell off the wagon for a bit
The break did me good, gave me a lift
Didn't suffer weight wise
Same slender thighs
Onward and upward didn't go too far adrift
Penelope hearkens to the steel vibrations that trouble her.
Getting Back On Track
You can’t be tying a string around your finger
Every time you have to remember
Why it is you went into the kitchen,
Or what it was you came into the garage for anyway.
You stand in front of the fridge,
In a room cluttered with thousands of memory joggers-
A block of carving knives, that lasting gift from your wedding,
The painted rose on a plate from a grateful patient,
A colonial tea canister from Williamsburg
With a key to stop its contents being purloined,
And the gallery of photographs held by magnets on the door,
And it is as if you were gazing at some rebuilt city,
Which has been completely redesigned
After an atomic bomb has wiped
All the definitive land marks off the map,
Wondering why you are there,
And what pressing task,
Which was screaming for attention,
Caused you to sleepwalk,
And if the telltale signs of senility
Are already devastating your mind.
Then picking your way back to the bathroom
You peer into the mirror
Straining for the clue,
And with an Archimedean exaltation,
Discover the switch of memory
And reluctantly admitting your humanity,
Put your day back on track once more.
Telling stories to hide the I,
It doesn't look so obvious that it reveals pride,
No one can tell therefore your seen in the norm,
That your not concentrated on yourself, but in between the lines there's more,
Yes, I have placed "me" out there with my heart on the table,
And Yes, at times it has made me look unstable,
To diminish "me," I've poured out on the page,
I've shared things on here I normally wouldn't say,
And everytime I write its weaning "me" away,
To see the bigger picture, he's teaching me everyday,
The process looks selfish and seems so revealing,
But the purpose goes far beyond what we are seeing,
Everyone releases in different ways,
Whether their good at covering up or have something to say,
Emptying out has a way of showing,
What's in our hearts and where we are going,
Sometimes there is so much there that we lose track,
Of how we are being or where we are at,
And in this way God pulls "me" back,
Drawing closer to him, loves back on track.
Just because we’ve
been disputing
Doesn’t mean we
should be putting
Our relationship on
hold
We should take a
step that’s bold
Finding the strength
we both need
Before we set each
other free
We don’t need to
deliberate
The years together
have been great
Our love was on a
speedy track
Why cant we get it
all back
Side by side as we
both win
The race we started
way back when
Both our hearts were
true and open
With the love that
we were hopin’
Wouldn’t change
throughout the years
We never had worries
or fears
About the fact not
to conceal
This love we have is
very real
I’m asking you just
one more time
If you would look
and change your mind
And take my heart so
we can soar
Please step inside
and close the door
Been gaining some pounds since moving here
Getting back on track once more
No more cake with two scoops of ice cream
I'm as dedicated as I was before
Resisting temptation is the name of the game
Will power sure comes into play
Without it you're doomed right from the start
Keep chomping away on fillets
Did it before so failing's not an option
Determined as I was back then
Too much poundage can be a dangerous thing
Going to lose a bunch once again
Do I hear you cheering me on, my friends
Well thank you for your support
I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing
Kinda like a progress report
Trust me I'm as confident as I've ever been
Did it once and will do it again
But if for some reason I don't achieve my goal
Got no one but myself to blame
© Jack Ellison 2014
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