The Last Station

I sat aboard a midnight train

For anywhere and nowhere,

In glazed and languid gaze about,

Without the will to sleep.

 

I watched the weary world go by

Beneath the ghostly streetlamps,

In wonder of what wealth and worth

Was left for me to keep.

 

Some faces nestled in the gloom,

So silent, stolid, sombre,

With scarce a sign of life, they seemed

Within their thoughts too deep-

 

And rumbling on the rails we rolled

Towards the last station.

 

I saw you as the pale lights skimmed

Your silhouette in passing,

Most casual upon the seat

With eyes fixed into space.

 

We met before, some time ago,

Though only for a moment

Before your station beckoned you

Towards another place.

 

And day by grey and dreary day

I’ve wistfully remembered

The dulcet timbre of your voice,

The lustre of your face-

 

And coursing through the cold we rolled

Towards the last station.

 

We passed some places of the past

That marked our brief encounter:

Here was the place we turned our heads,

And caught each other’s eye;

 

Here was the spot we slowly danced

Through one enchanted evening;

Here was the patch in which we lay

Beneath a starry sky;

 

And here the station I refrained

Regrettably from saying

I love you, which has rendered me

In constant wonder why-

 

And onward into dawn we rolled

Towards the last station.

 

You would not turn your head this time,

You would not break the silence.

You would not stir except at stops,

Which never lasted long.

 

I felt a yearning in my heart

To bring you warmth and solace,

But in your semblance I could see

A sign the time was wrong.

 

Yet stay this time so I no more

Would feel so lost and lonely,

For you’re the song that makes me sing;

The strength that makes me strong-

 

And hazy in the smaze we rolled

Towards the last station.

-EDP

Reviews

[BlackPrince]

I love this poem.
You have such a magnetic writing style that pulls the reader into your words' universe for that brief moment of reading.
You write with such depth, meaning and musicality; and you have a universal appeal.

WELL DONE

[emipoemi]

The public would agree with you, my friend.....if only the publishers would too...... Thanks for reading.

[Rye]

WOW!! This is one long write, but love it. Like the flow of it too. So very nice

[emipoemi]

Thank you so much!

[H L Rose]

I really liked this one. I’ve read it multiple times trying to figure out how I can write a helpful review, but every line seems important and unique to the poem’s meaning, so I don’t think I could offer any advice to make it better. It seems perfect to me.

I like the metaphor of the train. While reading, the language made me imagine a hazy mist in the imagery. Then in the end you mentioned “smaze”(which Is a word I had never heard before, but I like a lot), so it seems like you brought about the imagery of “smaze”, before ever even using the word.
Loved reading it!

[emipoemi]

Glad you did! Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, this was one of my Phase 3 poems, so I doubt there would be any corrections to be offered (I'm kind of a perfectionist when it comes to my writing). And "smaze" is actually a word that means a mixture of "smoke" and "haze" just like "smog" is when "smoke" and "fog" are mixed. But there you have it, I DO intend to paint the picture in the minds of my readers, and make it a habit to only use words once (unless they form a refrain). Thanks again! I'm so glad you enjoyed this!

[H L Rose]

Of course! I’m so glad you wrote it!

[poetgurl (Plainly Meg)]

Wow this is so good, very touching

[emipoemi]

Thanks you so much!! Glad you enjoyed it.

[wordman]

a touching write,i enjoyed it

[emipoemi]

thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

[wordman]

you`re welcome