Tracks Into Time
A Ghostly Memory
Settling into the sea,
the fading sun darkens the water;
shadows the rocks.
Around the bend
upon the ledge,
A ghost train appears,
chuffing clouds that blend with sky.
Surf crashes,
batters rock;
The train fades
to imagination.
And the whistle blows
an eerie silent chord,
In tribute to
a memory that never was.
About This Poem
Though this is about a railroad that was decades, before my time, though my father was around in those days, and I remember him talking about the Ocean Shore Railroad quite a few times. And that "borrowed" memory is what the last line of the poem means; I don't remember the train, but I feel as if I knew it, because of my dad's stories.
Being something of a train buff, the stories stayed with me, and I still love trains; I even have a model railroad layout at home...(still in the works).
Originally written back in March of 1996, with a revision in May of 2010, and one more tiny tweak in March of 2018, with a final revision in March of 2019.
© 2010 Liz Elias