Tuesday, October 05, 2010

No One Else Is Coming

I.

My Life
Is a Train Station
Where I wait
and wait.

Sitting on the dull
gray concrete Bench
Just underneath
The Big Round Clock
... tick tock ...
I button up my pea coat
It was cold.

Love
Sat next to me
He said He was waiting too
May He sit a while?
I nodded
Red licorice? I offered.
He took one and chewed.

He waited with me,
For my Train,
No rush, He reassured.
He told me pretty stories
And we laughed
and we laughed
and ate candy corn.

I'll board your train
With You, He promised.
But not this one,
The next one, He said,
Or the next.

We waited.
I waited
and waited.
For a long time.

Impatience and frustration
Became of me.
No, I had to go
I left His Bench
Behind
And my bag of chocolate coins.

I boarded the Train
Heading West.


II.

I picked a seat
Next to the Window
The breeze, that earthy smell;
Like a tall glass of water
On a perfectly humid day.
The world cruised by
At a steady 90 miles per hour.

Faith
Sat next to me
He took my hand in His
And made promises
of Marvelous Tomorrows;
Honeysuckle, butterflies, dew drops
On purple maple leaves.
All out there
All out West.

But the Sun
Woke up in the East
All my senses -- as if like magnet
Drawn to its
Overpowering Lust.

I hopped off
My Westbound Train.


III.

On platform 12
He was waiting. Again.
Love, again.
You'd be back, He foresaw.
The Eastern Train is coming
Sit with Me.
Gummy Bears? He offered.
I took one and chewed.

We boarded the Train
Heading East.

The clouds were painted
In 16-tone colors;
Horses neighed and
Panthers loped.
It was like Art;
Beautiful.

Moons passed, hearts beat.
I was ready to alight
He wasn't.
Not yet, He said,
Soon.
Soon.

But Soon never came
I jumped,
I tucked, I rolled;
Dusted off my bruised flesh
And my broken spirit.

Head held high
On platform 9
I waited
Again
And licked my wounds.


IV.

A train wreck
Nearby;
A collision
With God's Secret.
Hope
Emerged with tired eyes;
Wounded and damaged
But His Spirit flickered.

Hope
Sat next to me
Bloodied hands and all.
Twinkies? I offered.
No thanks, He said,
Then He changed His mind.
He took one and chewed.

He shook
From the crash He survived.
No more Trains, He vowed,
Just walking.
Very lonely though, I supplied.
Lonely is okay, He argued,
When life almost left you be...
Lonely is nothing.

We ate marshmallows
As the sun dipped.
He repaired His brazen self
Each day at a time
But the trains have stopped
Coming,
No more hoots, no more chugs.

He stood up, He shifted,
Wiping His hands on His jeans.
Coming? He asked.
I sat there rooted.
Coming? He echoed.
I sat still
On my Bench
Beneath the Big Round Clock
That same one
... tick tock...


V.

Arms akimbo
I stared down the rails
Further down
And down
As far as this naked eye
Can see.

The Sky blushed
A bashful orange hue;
I trod down the beaten
Iron Path;
No one else was coming.

No one else is coming.

Faith, Love,
Gone.
Just got Hope.
That's all.