Train to Nowhere

Train to Nowhere

A Poem by David Lewis Paget

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

© 2020 David Lewis Paget


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Reviews

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

Posted 2 Months Ago


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

Posted 1 Year Ago


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

Posted 1 Year Ago


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

Posted 1 Year Ago


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

Posted 1 Year Ago


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..

Posted 3 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.


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6 Reviews
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Shelved in 1 Library
Added on May 30, 2020
Last Updated on May 30, 2020

Author

David Lewis Paget
David Lewis Paget

Moonta, South Australia, Australia



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