Resurrection

one from the archives

It wasn't music I recall

that soothed my thoughts awaiting sleep,

at night I'd listen, counting trains.

No sheep for us near Stamford Brook,

though they appeared in books with rhyme.

I can't evoke a time when I

first saw one in a farmer's field

or felt my hands on grease wool coats.

Clickety clack, clickety clack,

past pictures flash inside my mind

of when in bed my tousled head

on pillows plumped as billowed cloud.

The tube brought comfort with its noise,

its rhythm rattled on steel tracks

and drapes that never kissed at night

allowed brief light to flood the space.

We'd hear the slow down and the screech,

the signal reds, applied before

the change to green allowed once more

a crawl into the station's mouth.

Alas, the darkness soon returned,

unfriendly was sporadic gloom,

but not for long another came

to brighten up the shadowed room.

An older me would stand beside

my brother in the countryside,

upon a bridge that straddled lines

where we would find in tattered logs

the times when whistles blew and steam

engulfed us both as engines old

flew past to leave us cloaked in smoke.

Stoked coal and soot filled memories.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i would put the little pill into the engine...and let my lionel train go round and round as i would lie in bed trying to go to sleep...the pill made the engine smoke...and then i would get up...and make the whistle blow...
i was very little then....but i grew up loving trains...and wishing we could have had more years of the steam engines...the coal cars etc...
you let me be back there for a few moments as i read this...your imagery gets us to see and hear what you see and hear...thanks for that.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

I found this one in my archives Jacob after reading your poem about steam trains a few days ago. I love those old trains too. They bring back wonderful memorues. I like where this poem took you. I enjoyed hearing about the little you.

Chris

[Neville]

it is not unusual for me these days to find myself longing for those yesterdays when steam was king and everything seemed so much more simple .. and pleasurable and and .. clickity clackish .. toot toot .. ta for the ride Chris, muchly enjoyed.

Neville

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Neville. Oh, how simple life was back then. How complex it has become. Pleased you enjoyed the steam train nostalgia.

Chris

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Sounds like some very fond memories of a simpler time before technology made the world move to fast.
Ad e,rightful poem that left a smile on my face.

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks for your visit Cowboy. You must tell me your name. Pleased you enjoyed my nostalgic jaunt.

Chris

[The Rock And Roll Cowboy(REBEL WITH A CAUSE)]

You're welcome... and I see you already discovered my name :)

[Eilis]

Lovely bit of nostalgia, Chris. It speaks to me of a slower time- something I think we’ve lost for good. I love the rhythm of the poem as I think it mirrors the rhythm of the train itself when it is steady going.

It’s been a long time since train travel has been an everyday part of life where I live, but my mom has a freight line that runs behind her house several times a day. Both of my children loved to stand outside and watch the train pass when we visited her when they were very young. It never got old for them. It seems like the pull of the railroad is magnetic.

Your poem speaks to that so well.

[Chris Shaw]

Eilis, I think you are right. Trains can have that magical pull. Children do seem to have fond memories of trains, either watching or riding in them. We all use the train still, preferring it to motorway travel on occasions. I"m not fond of distance driving so will board the west coast train to visit my Mum who lives 200 miles away in a nursing home. Thank you so much for visiting my little bit of nostalgia.

Chris

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Funny how a word, phrase or written piece stirs memories of past events and early times - your nostalgic poetic write certainly reflect a place and time within your mind's memory box. Great share my friend... :-)

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks Phill, yes trains and track certainly take me back and then I hear the sound of whistles, bells, and the hissing of steam. Those were the days. Fond memories. Thank you so much for your visit. Much appreciated.

Chris

[Relic]

I actually had a couple of nightmares about trains. In one, I was stuck on the tracks. In the other, I hid from a UFO beside the tracks. :) There was a train that ran in the back of my cousin's house and we used to ride horses in their corral, so the train nightmares must have come from those days.

I'm glad to see you have such fond memories. They make good company when we get older.

[Chris Shaw]

What a pity you have mares about them. To me there is so much romance and nostalgia in the age of steam. I loved getting cloaked in smoke, standing on that bridge with my brother trainspotting. Many thanks for your review Tim.

Chris

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Ah a reminisce I can relate to in many ways. Still go to the Grand Central Railway to enjoy the steam. Nicely portrayed in a well described mood piece.

[Chris Shaw]

A fellow lover of steam trains. I just love the opportunity to see a steam engine out and about. They always seem to draw such crowds. Goes back to the industrial revolution and early travel. Much nostalgia. Thanks for your review John.

Chris

[Anjeline]

Beautifully written dear Chris. Loved the description of the surrounding :)

[Chris Shaw]

Many thank yous Anjeline for your lovely review. I appreciate your time.

Chris

[Anjeline]

You're welcome :)

[Jade]

I can really feel this write, emotional and so well written.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Brandie Jade. I appreciate your visit.

Chris

[Lorry]

This brings back to me what my Mum used to say to us lot when we were going under bridges or through tunnels, it was bad luck to talk when doing these as talking might make the bridge or tunnel fall on top of us. :)
Parents can be evil with the things they say for a bit of piece and quiet.
Maybe if you read this to the little uns these days they would think you worked at hogwarts :)
There isn't much that beats a steam train rolling through the countryside to spark magical memories of childhood. Although to be honest, it freaked me out that ours was called the flying scotsman. Conjured all sorts of images of being in a train wreck with a passing plane.
(maybe I was dropped on the head as a kid more than I remember :)

[Chris Shaw]

Lorry the Flying Scotsman was one of the trains I used to wait for as a kid with my brother. Magnificent it was and not a sign of kilted men flying through the air whilst it whistled through. Those were the days I thought Scotland was a foreign country:) That going under bridges malarkey must have been a bit scary. Funny thing those old wives tales. Like you I love a steam train even more than steamed pudding. Have a great day.

Chris