The Bloody Train

By a stream of running water,

Underneath a moonless sky,

Like a nightmare of a slaughter

The blood-spattered train goes by.

Where the rails have long been rusted

All along the valley plain,

There the train, so blood encrusted

Will repeat its run again.

I can hear the rails humming

To the rhythm of its wheels,

As the train, it keeps on coming,

As the driver’s mind, it reels,

And he stares out through the darkness

With each glaring, bloodshot eye,

He will have to face the horror

When he stops the train, or die.

There’s a skull smashed on the boiler,

There’s an arm caught on a ledge,

There is blood and guts and gore all spattered,

On the front, and wedged,

When the train ploughed through the gangers who

Were working on the track,

Then their blood sprayed through his cabin

And he didn’t dare look back.

Then the fireman had to vomit as

Their blood sprayed in his face,

But he heaped the coals upon it just

To keep their frantic pace,

And now both their eyes are crazy at

The slaughter they have done,

They are bound for hell, not heaven

On this final ghostly run.

It’s been sixty seven years now since

That train raced down that track,

And those seven men were slaughtered,

But they keep on coming back,

By a stream of running water,

Underneath a moonless sky,

Like a nightmare of a slaughter

The blood-spattered train goes by.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[A Soap Mess Stories]

Good read David. Love reading your stories

[Coyote Poetry]

A interesting tale in the poetry. Old legend and story. Always keep us wondering of truth or not. Thank you David for sharing the amazing poetry.
Coyote

[Einstein Noodle]

wow David .. a ghostly tale indeed ..did this really occur?
the train, its whistle and hum are baleful in the moonlight ..always a melancholy romance with me ..the contrast you have made with a horrific a brutal event is stark..well done ..the blood is drained from me face
E.

[John the Baptist]

This has the sound of an actual incident. On the other hand, it may be just a ghost story. Either way, the poet has done a great job with the imagery and the meter. Good work.