Wednesday, April 9, 2008

a date with a train


And there will be nothing left
for them
to say except,
“We saw her last, tight-rope walking on the rail, balancing Sexus upon her head.”








And there will be nothing left
for them
to find, only
The contents of her purse scattered in the passenger seat:
One last cigarette
Some chewing gum
A banana peel
The keys
Lipstick

And on the floor
a collection of rusty ancient nails and unknowns

And Jimmy will swear he saw her
just moments before-
slip a hand up her billowing skirt, turn her smiling face up to the sky,
and lie down upon the track

And they will say (later-
when the story had turned to legend) that her cries
of pleasure
echoed through the abandoned warehouse
of runaway fantasies



And they will know,
Yes! They will surely know-
that when you have
a date with a train......

there is nothing left
to do
but to keep it


[April 2008]

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

To me, that sounds like a date worth standing up. (But I like the poem.)

Anonymous said...

I love all your poems. Try to get them published, kay?

I have Sexus on my shelf...I should read it!

Rebecca said...

Ah, the irresistible force. Pleasure vs. annihilation. Sexy and dark...well done :)

r.

Kate said...

That's a great one! Very erotic.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Rebecca. This poem has a sweet, sexy, sinuous darkness. It's amazing how you make bleak and mundane surroundings seem so powerfully appealing. I can also hear the wind whisper between the rails and whistle mournful echoes through the cracks of the warehouse.

BBC said...

Sex? Oh, yeah, I think about it all the time. But after 8 years without it you would think I would be over that.

Maybe in another ten years I'll be old enough that it won't matter.