Train to Nowhere

Train to Nowhere

The passengers on the railway train

Were of a certain kind,

I looked around, and saw their ages

Similar to mine,

We all stared out of the windows

As everything went by,

To pastures, green and fertile,

Above them just the sky.

We flew by woods and forests,

By cottages and crofts,

By cows and sheep and farmlands

And barns with wooden lofts,

We rattled past the seawalls

That held back winter tides,

And scanned the golden beaches

The rocks and cliffs beside.

I had a creeping feeling

That something wasn’t right,

The steel track went clickety-clack

As we headed into night,

The passengers were silent

They looked so gaunt and pale,

My life was flashing before my eyes

With every hill and dale.

Then in came the conductor

Dark glasses and a hat,

Was handing different tickets out

Some white, and some were black,

He seemed to peer into their eyes

And then was choosing well,

Which ticket he would offer them,

White heaven, black marked hell.

I bounded out of my seat at that

And pulled hard on the cord,

The train, it came to a screaming halt

And he yelled, ‘Stay aboard.’

I made my way to the closest door

And jumped out on the track,

To see the conductor leer at me,

‘There is no going back!’

The train took off in the distance,

I sighed in my relief,

I knew just where it was going,

Or that was my belief,

It headed into a tunnel

The last part of its ride,

I know it never came out again

On the other side.

If ever you should find yourself

On a rattling train,

Check out the other passengers

If they should look the same,

You may be headed along the line

To a fatal heart attack,

So watch what ticket he offers you

And never take the black.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Omikron]

This was a blissful read. The easy flow in the rhythm conveys the story well. I am especially fond of the last stanza. Great work, as always, DLP. Never stop sharing your mind in letters.
// O.

[Jack Cassidy]

It's true that people make their own heaven hell - I enjoyed the way you had the protagonist react to it as well - a nice time for a crisis

[AYVID N]

Thank you for the warning....I loved this read.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Sent shivers down my spine
I’ll never look at a train ride in perhaps the same way again
Loved it 😍

[Ken e Bujold]

A friend Richard pointed me in your direction, and I shall be forever in his debt.
What else to say other than I bow before a great technician of the ancient art of storytelling. This is an amazing ride David. You are the real deal. Something to give me pause, an inspiration, and a cautionary tale of how much deeper I still need to dig, if ever my own poetry's to scale the heights of artistry.

ken e

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

A wildly entertaining imagination's ride, if ever I read one, and piece of Poetry excellently composed and written ...

Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn de Graham

[ROSALIND]

Wow well describes nature..and gives a stern warning as to were your life may be going.. unfortunately for some it will be too late..