Last Train to Nowhere
Another day passes me by on rails –
I somehow missed my station,
Or maybe it’s not even on this line.
I should be gathering traveller’s tales,
But ev’ry new location
Is just another wait on Platform 9.
From the milk trains to the midnight mails
Towards some destination,
But the fast express has left me behind
Somewhere between the gaps to mind.
The signal’s red, the soot is black;
My future lies on up the track.
This is really beautiful, and I particularly love “the fast express has left me behind /
Somewhere between the gaps to mind”. Excellent use of an extended metaphor. Am I right to think the ending is sad, referring to a loss of hope?
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Thanks for your kind words. I wrote this years ago, but I think my intention was about the monotony of daily life. ‘Up the tracks’ is where we are headed, but it seems to take forever to get there. I think I must have been feeling a bit glum at the time, because it’s not the usual thing I write about.
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